Life's Canvas
by Princess Starfire of Tamaran
Summary: AU He's cool, collected, and never met a girl he couldn't have. She's free spirited, playful, and totally uninterested in a fling. Richard Grayson, meet Kori Anders. aka, Commitment. RxS, BBxRae
1. When You're Richard Grayson

**Author's Note: Please note I will not be posting chapters more than twice a week. In all likely hood, I will be posting once a week or maybe slower. Please understand I'm extremely busy right now.

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Life's Canvas**

Disclaimer- I don't own the Teen Titans

Chapter 1: When You're Richard Grayson

"Hello?" a smartly dressed man in his mid-twenties flipped open a cell phone with one hand. His voice was deep and smooth, something rather charming emanating from him. The man's face tensed into a scowl, a crease forming on his handsome brow. "What the- yes I know, but… do I _have _to?" he raked a hand through his ebony hair and sighed.

Behind his dark sunglasses, a pair of icy blue eyes stared critically down at the café table. "Bruce, this is _your_ gallery, not mine! I could care less about what goes in it… no. I won't do it!" He snapped. "Yes, I _understand_ that… but I can't handle those artist types, anyhow," he muttered, disgruntled by the way his conversation was going. On the other end of the line, Bruce Wayne chuckled.

"Sure, but how many of those… 'artist types' have you taken to bed in the last three months?" the suave billionaire quirked a brow. A string of curses came in reply. Bruce rolled his eyes. "Fine… I would rather stay off of that topic too. So then… what about Miss Roth? I would say she's the closest thing you've got to a friend and she _owns_ a school of fine arts for Christ's sake!"

"Bruce… why do you do this to me?" the man asked. He sighed as the reply came.

"That's how it is when you're Richard Grayson. Now be a good little heir and bring me back a cappuccino, ok?" Bruce Wayne smirked.

"Go to hell…" Richard muttered as he folded his cell and jammed it back in his pocket. None the less, he sulked over to the counter and ordered the requested beverage. "Oh, and Bruce? She's married now. Mrs. _Logan_ would be more accurate," he mumbled to the air.

"Yes?" Raven's apathetic voice cut Richard's brooding.

"What?" He turned quickly to face her in surprise.

"You said Mrs. Logan so I was just responding… jeez," the violet haired woman rolled her equally violet eyes.

"Sorry… wasn't expecting to see you, how are you and Gar doing?" he asked sheepishly. Raven arched a perfect brow.

"You don't expect a lot of things. Either way, Gar and I are fine. I'm still adjusting to being married to a stand up comedian, but we're having fun," she gave a quaint little smile that darted across her features and disappeared as quickly as it had come. Richard grinned, accepting the cappuccino handed to him over the counter.

"Well, I gotta go take this to Bruce… he'll throw a fit if he doesn't get it nice and hot. Take care of yourself, Rae," he leaned over and gave her a light peck on the cheek. Raven watched after him. Richard Grayson peeled out of the café lot expertly, his sleek black motorcycle rumbling obnoxiously. Raven snorted… Dick was the only man who could get a cappuccino all the way back to Wayne Manor without spilling a drop while on a bike. She stepped up to the counter and ordered herself a cup of tea.

Richard pulled up to Wayne manor; gravel spraying as he came to a quick stop. Hopping off the bike, he took the steps up to the mansion two at a time. He swung the imposing door open and stepped inside, his shoes clapping against the cold marble. "Bruce, come get your cappuccino, damn it!" he hollered. Richard waited in the middle of the immense foyer, holding out the drink with a look of distaste written across his features.

Moments later, the billionaire appeared and descended one of the wraparound staircases that flanked either side of the room. He accepted the beverage wordlessly, taking a sip before acknowledging Richard. "Nice to see you made it back, Dick. Although, you could try and manage a few sentences without any vulgarity. It's most unbecoming." He scolded. Richard hefted a sigh. "Oh, and take off those silly sunglasses. You're inside now," the older man ordered as he left. With a quiet growl, Richard did as he was told and jerked the shades off.

His startlingly azure eyes scanned the foyer with detachment. After living in the manor for eighteen years, the grandness of it all just became sickening. Darting up the long stairwell with ease, he strode down a hall and entered his room. The door shut behind him noisily. Richard grinned at the sound. From somewhere close by, he heard Alfred give a disdainful mutter. Ok… so now for that stupid gallery thing.

He pulled back out his cell phone, not at all interested in having Bruce monitor his call. He should have just spoken to Raven about this in the café, but whatever. Richard punched in the austere woman's number and brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hello? Rae Logan speaking," Raven's voice answered. Robin grinned. Raven and Gar sure made an odd couple.

"Hey, it's me," he replied. Raven was quiet.

"Hi _Dick_. It'd be nice if you'd actually say your name. Anyways, what do you want?" she asked monotonously.

"Well, I know I should've just brought it up earlier but I didn't think about it…"

"Do you ever think?" Raven interrupted, a flicker of amusement in her voice.

"C'mon, Rae. You've known me long enough to answer that question. But that's beside the point. I need to know if you can… do me a favor…" he paused.

"Richard… this better not be anything stupid. I have a school to run and a husband to tend to."

"It's not stupid. Well it is… but… wait. No. Never mind. It's not. Bruce put me in charge of his newest pet project 'cause he's got to go on a business trip. I need an artist to help put this Art Gallery together and maybe put up some of their work. Got anyone at your school I could steal for… say… a month?" he chuckled. On the other end of the line, Raven frowned.

"Yes… I do have some art teachers that would eagerly take on a project like that. Assuming it pays nicely. But I can't exactly pluck up one of my instructors and dump them in the palm of your hand," she mused.

"I know. But don't you have anyone?" he asked. Raven snorted.

"I guess. We have a new intern that's studying to become an art teacher… I think she'll end up teaching some music classes as well. She's got a lovely voice. One of the best sopranos I've heard…"

"Ok, ok, I don't really care if she can belt out Mary Had a Little Lamb. Can she come!" Richard asked, a little exasperated. "I'm sure Bruce will let me give her a nice sum for taking this on," he added.

"Right. Well I suppose I can have it arranged that she comes over. When do you need her?" Raven inquired.

"ASAP," he stated firmly.

"Tomorrow morning alright? I'm sure she'd like some time to pack and such," the woman replied indifferently.

"Pack?" Richard asked curiously. "She lives in Gotham, doesn't she?" he prodded.

"No. She drives all the way out from Jump City. I think it would be much more suitable to save her the two hour trip and let her stay there. Don't you agree, Richard?" she asked, her tone implying it would be rather dangerous to disagree.

"Ah, right. Good idea, Rae. If it's two hours to get to the school it'd be almost three to drive all the way out to the gallery building." He agreed hastily. Richard was pretty headstrong for the most part, but when it came to Raven… no one disputed with her.

"Ok. She'll be there tomorrow unless I call back otherwise. I'll tell her to be at your door by ten," Raven informed. Richard grinned.

"Thanks, you're priceless. By the way… what's her name?" he asked.

"Kori. Kori Anders. I'll call you tomorrow evening and make sure she got there ok. Goodbye." Raven hung up before Richard could respond. He shook his head. Just like Raven. So. Kori Anders…

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Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed. I am officially off hiatus, but I'm really busy right now so things might be a little slow. Maybe not. I would appreciate any comments you have, critiques are welcomed as I've never done an AU before. I would also like to note Kori may be a little OOC in this story, but I firmly believe what you will see in coming chapters is a real side of her... they just don't show it too much ;)

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	2. Stunning

Life's Canvas

Chapter 2: Stunning

Richard had spent the rest of his day wandering around Wayne manor, occasionally sprawling out on one of the dark leather couches. He'd paid a short visit to the main Gotham branch of Wayne enterprises and had some fun flirting with Barbara Gordon, the daughter of one of Bruce's business partners. It had proved to be a rather entertaining evening, seeing as he'd gotten in a good work out _and_ had the chance to squabble with Bruce… an activity he was finding to become increasingly amusing.

All in all, he had found it a satisfying day. One of the few that had been void of business meetings and the sort. He supposed it was because Bruce was clearing his schedule with his trip coming up that Friday. In order to humor the man, Richard had even driven past the gallery building and took a peek inside.

Richard yawned and tumbled clumsily from his bed, tangled in his sheets. To say the least he was a rather restless sleeper, but he had his reasons. The past tended to be a haunting thing. He shook the unruly black hair out of his eyes and trudged over to his closet where he pulled out a suit. Richard grimaced and shrugged it on, tugging distastefully at his tie. He looked at his clock. 9:30. Lovely. He'd figured his morning run would have to be canceled, but he hadn't thought he'd gotten up _that_ late.

Richard wandered into the bathroom where he thought he'd attempt to drag a comb through his disobedient hair.

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Kori looked curiously around. She'd never been to this side of Gotham. It was so… ritzy… She giggled and tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. Today was so pretty… she smiled and decided to park behind a little café to her left. She should be close enough to walk to Mr. Wayne's place in a half hour. Kori parked her old, lavender VW bug behind the café and pushed open the door.

She slipped out daintily and closed the door behind her. She was dressed in a flowing, white peasant-style skirt that went down to her ankles. She had a soft purple camisole on with a sheer shirt on top that fell about her shoulders and ended in long, billowing sleeved. She sucked in a deep breath of air and rounded the back of her vehicle, popping open the trunk. Kori pulled out a large suede leather bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Slamming the trunk closed she headed off, noting the name of the café so she could retrieve her car later. Kori Anders had begun her internship at Azerath School of Fine Arts six months ago. She was becoming accustomed to Gotham and its sights with the daily commute, but she wasn't exactly aware of how notorious the city was for rapidly shifting weather.

So thus was how the young artist found herself two miles from her car, a mile from Wayne manor, and ensnared in pouring rain. Her bare feet danced lithely over puddles, her skirts sticking awkwardly to her ankles. Much to the curiosity of other pedestrians, she seemed almost pleased with the plummeting rain. Kori giggled and twirled down the street, rapidly approaching Wayne Manor.

Finally reaching the gate to the imposing home, she shook some loose strands of scarlet hair from her face. The wet tendrils flung back and stuck to the rest of her hair, which had come loose from its messy bun and was now tumbling down her back in ruby waves. She pressed the button bellow small speaker box and waited.

"Hello? This is Alfred on behalf of Master Wayne. Please do state your name." a voice crackled through. Kori grinned, more rain dripping into her eyes.

"Kori Anders… I'm here to see Mr. Grayson. Mrs. Logan sent me," she replied with a soft giggle. After a moment, Alfred's voice fizzled though the speaker again.

"I shall have Young Master Grayson meet you at the door. Feel free to park your vehicle in front of the manor," he directed. Kori stifled a chuckle. The large iron gates swung slowly open, much to the girl's interest. Stepping lightly through them, she skipped towards the huge double doors marking the entrance to Wayne Manor.

The gravel path was slightly uncomfortable beneath her bare feet, but she found the tiny twinges of pain acceptable. There was no beauty in life without a little hurt. Kori stepped up the marble steps and under the overhang supported by two gothic-style pillars. She grasped a bronze knocker firmly in her delicate hand and pounded it on the door with surprising strength.

"Master Richard, your lady-friend has arrived," Alfred bowed slightly, a tiny smirk on the old butler's face. Richard's brow shot up but any further comments were interrupted by the banging of a knocker. Richard straightened up his tie and darted down the stairs, taking the last four in a rather large bound. He opened the door quickly, and went rigid in surprise.

Before him was Kori, in all of her soaking glory, beaming innocently up at him. Her wet clothes clung to her and he noted she was shivering a little. Her long auburn hair tumbled down to her waist in regal waves and her bangs fell over her brilliant emerald eyes. Kori gave a tiny squeal.

"Hello! You must be Mr. Grayson! Mrs. Logan speaks well of you at the school. I'm absolutely delighted to meet you!" and with that, Kori flung her arms around Richard in a bizarrely strong hug. Immensely startled, the poor young man stumbled backwards and both tumbled to the ground. Kori's eyes widened and she propped herself up. "My! I am so terribly sorry!" she hastened to remove herself from him and Richard gave an uneasy nod, pulling himself up to his feet as well. As he stood, his gut plummeted.

"Well, Richard, let us not get carried away. You barely know the girl," Bruce met Dick's gaze evenly. Richard lifted a hand in order to defend himself, but Kori's flute-like voice interrupted.

"Oh my goodness! You must be the famed Bruce Wayne!" Kori was staring in awe at Bruce who turned and gave a polite nod. She gave the billionaire a genuine smile and proceeded to greet him in similar fashion as Richard. Luckily, Bruce caught himself before falling and courteously extracted the young artist from him. Kori looked back and forth between Richard and Bruce before her face fell and her frame drooped. Richard felt an instinctive need to comfort the clearly distraught girl, but was unsure of how to do so.

"Oh… I am so, so, sorry! I've gotten you both wet… I really should think before I do things, I hope you can forgive me!" she amended, rummaging in her large suede duffle and producing a fluffy lavender towel and holding it out in offering.

"Ah, don't fret Miss Anders. You're completely drenched, though. I shall have Alfred escort you to your new living quarters so you can change. We'll try introductions again after you're dry. Richard and I will be fine," Bruce smiled graciously and Kori seemed much relieved, obediently following Alfred up the stairs and out of sight.

Richard stared curiously after her. Bruce looked carefully at his ward. "So, what is your initial impression of Miss Raven's intern?" he asked, half expected Richard to fall to his knees and beg him to take the project back. Instead, the young man simply nodded slowly and turned to face his mentor.

"She's… stunning…" he murmured. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"She's not here to be your play thing Dick…"

"I know that! That doesn't mean I'm forbidden to think she's… attractive…" Richard retorted wrathfully. Bruce shrugged.

"Sure," he said. Richard sighed. This was nothing… It wasn't as if he actually thought anything of her. She was simply intriguing. And he was intrigued by many things...

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Author's Note: Oh blast it. I know I said I wasn't going to post too qickly but this chapter just _had _to be posted. I suppose I wanted to give you all a taste of Kori, if you will. Sympathique, I don't plan on making this cliche... but Richard's not one to deny it if a girl's got looks. And that, Kori does. But alas, no love can come from a relationship brought purely by physical attraction, now can it? Now off to my novel! I shall be placing the blame for slow updates on my book, which is the current holder of my attentions. I'm hoping to complete it and get it sent to a publisher by the end of '05... sounds like a long time, but trust me... it's not.

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	3. Inevitable

Author's Note: I'm going to reply to a few reviewers really quickly...

_Watcher7_- Lol, I don't drive so I didn't know. Sorry about that... I've never seen a car with the trunk in the front, but I guess I'm not around cars too much. And yes, Kori is a little ditsy if you want to put it that way. She's not stupid, just a little out there. She _never_ hides her feelings and is overly optimistic and hasn't really grasped the purpose of formalities. I'm really glad to hear from you, I find your opinions quite valuable.

_Airhead123-_ I'll be sure to let you know... if it gets published. lol

Someone asked if Cyborg would be in this story, and the answer is yes. Although he won't have a main role, there will be a little bit of Victor Stone lurking around in the future. Speaking of my book, yes, I will be finishing it as I'm already a good ways into it. I'm just buckling down now but it's been a project I've been working on since last year.

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Life's Canvas 

Chapter 3: Inevitable

Kori came down stairs fifteen minutes later, her hair dried and pulled up into a messy bun. Two paintbrushes were thrust through each side of the bun in lieu of chopsticks. The young woman had a pair of dark, low-cut flares on and a tasseled, suede belt. The belt had curious little adornments of silver that tipped each leather tassel and made a soft tinkling sound as she moved. A black camisole and a pair of large silver hoop ear-rings and matching silver bangles completed her ensemble.

Richard found himself still a little thrown off by the casual wardrobe, seeing as he and Bruce were still clothed in suits (Dry ones at this point). Bruce made a soft tutting noise under his breath, indicating he was not as fascinated by Kori as Dick was. "Well, Miss Anders, It's lovely to see you made it here well, a tad wet, but well none the less. I am sorry to say I am not much aware of your employment… as that would be Richard's forte. I shall be leaving on a business endeavor early tomorrow morning and I have some engagements to which I must attend today. Put simply, I doubt I will be seeing you again for the next two weeks... Perhaps I shall take you to a luncheon upon my return, but until then I trust you will keep Richard in check?"

Bruce's eyes sparkled merrily, their blue only a few shades darker than Richard's. Kori smiled and nodded, a soft giggle escaping her. "I promise I'll do my very best to make this gallery spectacular!" she beamed. Bruce nodded and turned on heel, heading out the door. As he did so, he briefly paused and brought his face near Richard's ear.

"She's very… interesting. Have a lovely time, Dick," Bruce chuckled and exited, Alfred bustling after him with n umbrella. Richard coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. It was quiet for a moment, Kori feeling rather unsettled by Bruce's curt manner. He was polite, but didn't seem too pleased by her show earlier…

"I'm sorry?" she offered finally, Richard turning to her with a start.

"No, no, it's alright. A little rain won't kill us," he gave her a fascinating little grin. "Well, the weather's pretty nasty right now… but you know that. Maybe we should wait until it clears before we head to the gallery. What do you think?" he inquired cordially.

"That sounds lovely," Kori smiled softly. She bit her lower lip and scrunched up her brows in thought. After the brief hesitation, she stuck out her hand. "Perhaps we should start this over. I'm Kori," she giggled. Richard chuckled, but obliged and grasped her hand firmly.

"Well, if you're going by Kori, than I'm Richard," he shook her hand, doing his best to ignore the incredible softness of her skin. Kori nodded.

"Ok then. It's nice to meet you, Richard," she murmured. Richard decided he liked the way she said his name very much. He tilted his head to the side curiously, a bit disturbed by his own thoughts.

"Do you want me to show you around a little? You might get lost in here if I don't…" he winked. Kori blushed a lovely rose and nodded. Richard was very charming. The girl obediently followed him up the stairs again, and Richard noted she was still bare-footed. He quirked a brow.

"May I ask what it was that spurred you to open up an Art Gallery? Mr. Wayne already has several, does he not?" she peeped as he led her down a corridor.

"It wasn't really my idea. Bruce has a fetish for them, if you will. They're sort of his little pet projects… the only problem is, he wasn't counting on having this business trip so now I'm stuck doing his thing," Richard rolled his brilliant, azure eyes. Kori was silent and he noticed her face looked a tad disappointed. He immediately found himself regretting his answer.

"Oh… well I hope you will find it an enjoyable experience. I have never worked with a _gallery_ before, so this is quite exciting to me… perhaps we can have a nice time doing it together?" she bit her lower lip (it appeared to be a habit) and gave him a hopeful glance. Richard looked down at the floor a moment. It seemed like Kori would make this hard _not_ to enjoy.

"Yeah, why not? Uh, this is the bathroom you'll be using…" he jerked his thumb at a door to his left. Kori seemed to accept the abrupt change in subject, seeing as there wasn't much more to say. The girl suddenly found herself very captivated by Richard's hand. Without a word, she grabbed his hand in her own, eliciting a startled grunt from the surprised man. "Ah… Kori?" Richard found himself baffled by her seemingly eccentric activity. Kori paid no heed, much to wrapped up in her examination of his fingers to notice. "K-Kori? What are you doing, exactly?" he asked tentatively.

Kori jerked her head up in surprise. "Oh! Goodness, I'm terribly sorry… But you're hand is _perfect_," she exclaimed, her enthusiasm a tad unnerving.

"Er… thanks?" he gave her a queer look. Kori blushed.

"No, no… I mean it would work lovely for my newest piece! I can use your hand print. It's the perfect size!" she smiled, as if that made it all better. Richard couldn't help but laugh.

"Why not use your own hand?" he asked skeptically. Kori grimaced.

"It's not the right size. I can't cover enough space even if I spread my fingers out. See?" she demonstrated. Richard just shook his head. "Now you on the other hand… no pun intended… would be perfect!" she placed the palms of their hands together and grinned.

"See? Your hand is bigger, it will work perfectly." She decided. Richard snorted.

"I've barely known you for an hour and you're telling me my hand is bigger than yours so you want me to finger paint?" he asked. She placed her hands on her hips and rocked to the side, one eyebrow shot up.

"If you want to put it that way," she quipped. Richard smacked his forehead.

"You have no shame, woman!" he laughed. Richard realized he'd been doing that a lot with her… was her optimism going to be this infectious?

"And what is there to be ashamed of?" she asked incredulously. Richard paused.

"In all technicality, you're asking your boss to finger paint with you," he snickered. Kori rolled her gorgeous, bottle green eyes.

"When you put it that way it sounds bad. I was simply thinking more on the lines of you aiding me in making this piece for _your_ gallery by just giving me your hand print." She scowled. Richard threw up his hands in defeat. She was much too firm in her current state of annoyance to deny.

"Fine… I'll give you your hand print." He shook his head again. Kori beamed.

"Thank you very much!" she replied smartly. Richard grinned. Kori took his arm and tucked it under hers. At his inquisitive glance, she shrugged. "Can't let anything happen to this hand until I've used it in my painting. After that you can cut it off for all I care… well… actually, I would hope you'd refrain from cutting it off because I think I _would_ care. I can't stand seeing people hurting themselves…" she clucked softly, earning a sigh from Richard.

"You're not shy, are you?" he prodded. She shook her head.

"No… I'm not very shy. Most people say I'm a tad too friendly at times," she tilted her head to the side and seemed to ponder the idea for a moment. "But that doesn't make much sense, does it? I mean, everyone could use another friend!" she giggled. Richard led her further down the hall, his arm still her captive.

"Sure. I don't know about that, but if it works for you…" he muttered. Kori looked at him strangely.

"Mr. Grayson?" she asked. He looked back at her, brow raised.

"Yes? I told you, you could call me Richard…" he replied quizzically. Kori held her head high.

"Fine then. Richard. Either way, I swear from this day forward I am your new friend, even if you're my boss. Because, despite what you may believe, I think you might need a friend more than most," she stated matter-of-factly. Richard's face became solemn, if only for a brief moment, and then he nodded.

"Ok. But that doesn't get you out of doing this gallery," he answered. Kori shrugged.

"I _want_ to do the gallery. But as for getting out of things, this doesn't get _you_ out of letting me use your hand print," she retorted. And thus, Richard Grayson made a new friend.

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Author's Note: Ok, here's your update for the week. Maybe I'll have another this weekend. Reviews appreciated! I hope Kori's personality doesn't bother you too much... sorry if it does...

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	4. Finger Paints

Life's Canvas

Chapter 4: Finger Paints

The tour through Wayne Manor proved to be rather enjoyable for both parties, Richard finding himself captivated by her fiery personality. She was a rarity, in truth. A quick wit and sparkling eyes, but the most caring of demeanors and a gentle innocence he found compelling. They had ended up in the foyer again, standing quietly. Kori was observing the left staircase with great interest.

"I understand I should probably begin my painting… that way we can make a trip to the gallery building tomorrow… but this banister is simply beckoning to me…" she murmured, half to herself. Richard cocked his head to the side with a curious light in his cerulean eyes.

"What's so interesting about the banister?" he asked, baffled. Kori looked at him, a childish little glimmer playing on her features.

"Have you never wished to slide down it?" she inquired. Richard shook his head slowly.

"Not really… but if you want to, have at it. I'm not gonna stop you from your fun," he smirked. Kori beamed.

"Truly?" she asked, quite excited by the prospect. Richard nodded. Kori gave a rapturous little squeak and darted up the stairs, her bare feet seeming to nearly fly over the marble steps. He watched with an amused smile as the free-spirited girl positioned herself at the top of the banister, holding herself steady. He arched a brow, and Kori winked, releasing her hands. She slid swiftly down, giggling madly as she flew around the banister's graceful curve.

As she reached the end, she expertly stopped herself by grasping the banister firmly on either side of herself. Kori smiled widely at him. Richard walked up to her and offered a hand, which she took elegantly, hopping lightly off. "Now we can get to work!" she proclaimed, holding her head high and aloof. Richard chuckled.

"Right, so this is where my hand comes in?" he asked. Kori nodded absently, darting back up the stairs and out of sight. She seemed to have adjusted, with almost curious ease, into the manor. Richard waited patiently, and moments later she returned with her large suede bag. Trotting past him, she plopped abruptly down in the center of the foyer and began to rummage in her duffle.

Finding the desired items, she began to produce little jars of paint, setting them around herself in a half circle. She then pulled out a large canvas, which she laid before her, and plucked out a pallet. Richard observed the painting with interest. It was abstract, with flowing lines and muted colors, but a bold black striped severed the canvas into halves. She smiled at him.

"Do you like it?" she asked softly. Richard nodded.

"It's great… so where exactly is my hand supposed to go?" he asked. She pointed to the lower left of the painting.

"Here. It'll be in red. I call it… Spring Robin, because the colors reflect the spring, and the black line as well as your hand print represent the brilliant boldness the red-breasted robin brings as he comes back from the winter," she sighed distantly, a rather whimsical and dreamy look in her eyes. Richard stared at her. Well that's ironic. Come back from the winter? Bah, his mother's 'Little Robin' had died with his parents… never to come back from the winter. Richard snorted, snapping Kori from her day dream.

"You don't agree?" she asked sweetly, a trace of hurt in her jade eyes. Richard quickly shook his head.

"No, it's fine! I was, uh, just… never mind. So, can we get this over with? I'm bound to loose all my dignity if anyone ever finds out I was sitting on the floor, finger painting with a crazy artist," he shook his head, but none the less sat down beside her. Kori shot him a look.

"I'm not crazy, just free," she giggled and jabbed him in the arm. Richard rolled his eyes. Kori clucked softly, but grabbed his hand. She swiftly tugged the paint brushes from her hair for use, and Richard found himself momentarily lost in the blazing curtain of silk that tumbled down her back. Two slim tendrils fell forward and framed her face. She sighed and attempted to shake the hair from her face, but it was stubborn.

Kori gave up and returned to the task of Richard's hand. She dipped one of the brushes in a jar of bright scarlet paint and smiled. As the cold paint brushed his hand, he gave a quiet sound of distaste, but only elicited a snicker from his companion. Soon, his hand was covered in bright vermillion and Richard inspected it with detachment. "Now, put your hand print right there," she indicated the spot on the canvas again, and Richard complied grudgingly. As he lifted his hand off the canvas, Kori gave a coo of satisfaction.

"Perfect! Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked chidingly. Richard grunted. "Oh, come on, you _know _it was fun," she smiled. He lifted a brow but said nothing, standing to his feet first.

"I don't do fun. Just like Raven. That's why we get along," he snorted. As he moved off towards the kitchen in order to wash his hand, he paused, and with a swift movement he had pressed his thumb to Kori's nose, leaving a rather large red blotch of paint. Kori gave a protestant whine and she crossed her eyes in attempts to see the spot. Richard snickered and departed to the kitchen. Kori hastened after him, now having to clean herself as well.

"Indeed, well Mrs. Logan does to have fun! Her fun consists of reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe, but it is none the less fun to her," she retorted incredulously. Richard shook his head.

"Whatever, Kori. I think you _are_ crazy…" he laughed softly, falling quiet to the sound of water rushing from the faucet. Kori found herself a paper towel and wet it generously, dabbing the pain off of her nose peevishly.

"Well, I suppose I should take being called crazy by a person who refuses to have fun as a compliment. Although, I'm seriously entertaining the idea you're simply in denial. It would do you good not to let me catch you secretly finger painting on your own!" she poked him in the side, causing Richard to side-step.

"Riiight. On another note, do you realize how unprofessional this is?" he asked, eyeing her still paint-speckled nose. Kori nodded blankly.

"It doesn't bother me, does it bother you?" she asked innocently. He shook his head.

"Not really."

Kori shrugged. "Then I don't much see why it matters," she gave him an amused little grin, to which Richard simply rolled his eyes.

"You're something else, Kori. Are you sure we're the same species?" he quipped. She seemed to ponder it considerably.

"I don't know, Mr. Grayson. I believe that's up to you to decide. Although I would be rather surprised to find you weren't human too," she retorted jovially. Richard gave a bark of laughter.

"Is that so? Well, off hand… so would I," he gave her a genuine smile. Kori beamed back at him. And Mrs. Logan had told her he was cold and irritable with most… she seemed to have been sorely mistaken, for the man smiling at her now was anything but. Old wounds were making fleeting appearances, yes, but to her; he was opening up just fine.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry this took forever but I'm limited to posting _and_ typing on weekends and I'm juggling this and upcoming finals and my novel and all this other stuff. Either way, I can probably get chapter five up on say... Friday. I hope you liked the chappie, looks like Richard's starting to geta little fond of our favorite artist... despite her eccentricity... or maybe because of it! Lol, well I think you can expect Victor to make an appearence in about three chapters, but I do have a question. I need Bumble Bee's alter ego name. That or I can just call her Bee. Give me you input and drop off a review if you've got the time!

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

P.S.- Keep an eye out for a new 1-shot soon!


	5. What a Letter Entails

Life's Canvas

Chapter 5: What a Letter entails

Kori sat quietly, staring evenly into his azure eyes. A slow grin crept onto his features and the young woman's emerald pools narrowed. "Why are you staring at me?" Richard asked curiously. Kori narrowed her eyes further, so they were nothing more than gloriously bottle green slits.

"Why does it matter?" she retorted, her voice implying she was getting at something. What, he had yet to find. There was nothing ordinary about her. He had yet to know her a full twenty-four hours and she had him smiling, laughing, finger painting… and now she was making him feel self-conscious. This, of course, was a rather new feeling for the cool and collected, suave heir to the Bruce Wayne fortune.

"It doesn't, I guess. I'm just… wondering why you're staring at me," he said easily, handling the situation with practiced ease. Kori, however, had not finished.

"Well, if you must know, I'm trying to figure you out. You know I've never met _anyone_ as bottled up as you? Not even Madame Logan!" she exclaimed. Richard coughed.

"Yeah, well I've got my reasons. Just be happy you convinced me to be your 'friend' in the first place. I don't need you going off and trying to _understand_ me," he snapped, sensitive with the subject. Kori took no offence, but rather regarded him with a curiosity that both disturbed and intrigued him. She sighed suddenly.

"When shall we go to the gallery building?" she asked, steering the conversation elsewhere for the time-being.

"Tomorrow at quarter after nine. Will that be ok?" he replied, thankful she'd let him end the topic quickly.

"Alright, that'll be fine. So…" she trailed off, unsure of where to take the conversation next. Richard shifted in his seat.

"So," he repeated, also at loss. Kori suddenly sat taller in her chair and widened her eyes, taking on the expression he was coming to know as her apologetic/imploring look. He waited, and sure enough the young artist began.

"I'm sorry if I've behaved badly today. I don't make the best first impression with people who aren't used to my…" she scrunched up her nose, shrugging. Used to her what? Kori supposed she couldn't answer that very well.

"Forwardness?" Richard supplied, idly swirling the ruby colored wine in his goblet. Kori's cheeks flamed up brilliantly and she shook her head.

"Oh, no, not forwardness. I'm by no means like _that_…" she squeaked. Richard found her _almost_ endearing, sitting there so completely frazzled by a single word.

"Friendliness, then," he decided, and Kori seemed to take this solution much better.

"I suppose so," she giggled and dropped her gaze. "I'd just like you to know I'm terribly bad with the whole professional thing… I'm really glad you'll just let me be a friend. I can relate better that way," she said earnestly. Richard offered a slight smile.

"Works for me." he said. Kori beamed at him and cut a tiny piece of her chicken and ate it.

"Oh, I'm going to be so spoiled after meals like this, it won't even be funny!" she exclaimed to herself. Richard grinned.

"Yeah, well, got to feed my employees right. And my friends. Got to feed them right too. Alfred does a good job, doesn't he?" he took a bite of his own food and eyed her carefully. Kori nodded furiously.

"Very, very good! It's lovely to hear you call me a friend. It makes me feel happy," she mused. Richard couldn't help himself, and rolled his eyes.

"Sure, but I'm still your boss until this thing is over," he reminded her. Kori's eyes widened.

"Why, of course! But after all this, I should hope we can still be friends. I think I'll very much treasure being your friend," she shrugged. Richard stared at her oddly. Well, there's a new one. He'd never been told someone treasured his friendship before… then again; Raven probably didn't treasure much anything except her buddy angst. And sarcasm. She liked that too.

"Ookk…" he said, brows raised. Kori gave an indignant huff and took another bite of her chicken. Richard took a rather large sip of wine and set the goblet down. Kori stared at the goblet with a critical eye.

"That would be lovely in a still life…" she mused. Richard said nothing. The rain was the only sound for quite some time, drumming rhythmically on the mansion roof. The soft clink of silverware touching against the china dishes added to the melodious tumult of noise. Kori observed the man across from her with curiosity.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Alfred walked in carrying a silver plate with a letter on it. Richard snatched up the letter; his eyes narrowed, and opened up. A rather unhappy grunt made its way out and Kori commenced to look rather puzzled.

"Is something wrong, Richard?" she asked quietly. Richard looked up.

"No. Not really. Just another one of Bruce's big business parties… I'll see if Raven and Gar will come," he muttered. He scanned the letter and a scowl worked onto his face. He allowed a few choice vulgarities to slip and Kori chuckled softly.

"Are you positive nothing's wrong?" she prodded. Richard sighed.

"Gotta bring a date… Which would mean I'm going to have to bring Kitten," he rubbed his temples. Kori burst out into a fit of laughter and Richard eyed her crossly. "That's rude…" he snapped, rather peeved.

"Oh, no, I'm terribly sorry I just- her name is Kitten?" she asked. Richard nodded sullenly. He'd had one little romp through the sheets with the woman and now she deemed herself his official escort… unless…

"_Although_, I could take Babs. Yeah, that could work!" his mood brightened considerably, and his cocky demeanor returned. A date with the femme fetal couldn't be too bad at all. Kori shrugged.

"I don't know Babs. Or Kitten. So I guess I've got nothing to input," she tilted her head to the side. "When is it?" she asked.

"Next Saturday at eight in the evening," he answered.

"Oh." She said simply. "Will I be able to go to the gallery building during that time?" she asked.

"Yeah. Actually, the party is at the gallery building, but I guess if you're planning on working you could do some stuff with the second floor," he said. She pondered this a moment.

"There's a second floor?" she inquired. Richard nodded. She seemed to find the idea entertaining and was quiet as she finished her meal. Richard wondered if he should have invited her to the party, but he wasn't sure he wanted people to know he had taken to a girl with such a personality as Kori possessed… even if it was only in a friendly manner, she was his polar opposite.

Kori stood from the table and asked if it would be alright if she retired for the evening. Richard had waved her off and Alfred came to clear the table. Dick watched her with his steady gaze as she scurried upstairs, her hair falling into her face as she bounded up the steps.

Was it possible he would actually regret not taking her to the party? As eccentric as she was, he couldn't deny the fact he enjoyed her. In fact, she was the first person in a long time to have made him warm up to them so quickly. He supposed it was just her personality. Richard left the table and wandered up to his room. He flopped back onto his bed, swiping up the cordless phone on the way, and dialed Raven's number.

"Garfield Logan speaking, how can I help 'ya?" a male voice asked. Richard chuckled.

"Hey, Gar. It's Richard… Raven's friend?" he replied. Gar was silent for a moment.

"Oh, yeah! I remember you. You walked Rae down the isle 'cuz her dad's in jail… right?" he asked. Richard rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Is Rae there?" he asked. Garfield grunted, and Richard heard him hollering for her.

"Hello?" Raven's voice came on the line.

"Hi, Rae. I was just wondering if you and Gar wanted to come to the gallery party. Mr. Wilson is putting it on in honor of 'Mr. Wayne's newest endeavor'" Richard mimicked the strange man's voice. Raven snickered.

"Already got an invite. Seems Mr. Wilson worked for my father a while back; before he got arrested for the cocaine. He figured I'd enjoy it, considering I have Azerath School of Fine Arts and all. I think he just wants something from me. Probably wondering if I've got any connections to help him with his newest backhand deal. The guy's a crook… I just don't trust him," Raven went on a little rant. Dick smirked.

"Take it that means you're not going?" he asked. Raven paused.

"No, actually I am. Gar and I both." She said. Richard grinned.

"Ok. At least there will be a couple of sane people there. I'm going to see if Barbra Gordon will come with me. I _really_ don't wanna have to take Kitten again," he said. Raven snorted on the other line.

"Right. Well, I was going to call you later, but since we're talking… did Miss Anders get there alright?" she asked. Richard gave a bark of laughter.

"Definitely. She's here… no doubt about it," he sighed in amusement. Raven made a soft sound of indignation on the other end of the line.

"I trust you're staying in check?" she asked. Richard grimace.

"Jeez, don't you trust me?" he retorted. He could practically see Raven rolling her eyes.

"No. Is she coming to the gallery party?" Raven asked. Richard hesitated.

"I didn't invite her… I mean… I guess she could come, but I think she was just going to work a little upstairs during that time." He muttered.

"Invite her, Dick. She's doing you a huge favor. And make sure she has a date too. You don't have to be so inconsiderate all the time," Raven growled. Richard sighed again.

"Fine. I'll invite her, but don't count on her coming. It doesn't seem like her sort of thing anyways. She's been walking around the manor barefoot for Pete's sake," he rubbed his forehead.

"Let her decide that. And you could at least try to like her," Raven snapped.

"I never said I didn't like her. In fact, I like her… a lot. She doesn't look at me like other people do. And it's kind of nice." He murmured. Raven grinned slightly on the other end of the line.

"Good. I'll see you next week at the party. Bye," she hung up. Richard arched a brow and shook his head. He tossed the phone onto his night stand and ran a hand through his black hair. He'd have an early night, he decided, and he rolled off of his bed. Richard changed into a pair of black sweats and a baggy tee-shirt and slumped back onto his bed. Kori had been with him a day, and she was confusing him in ways he hadn't known he could be confused.

* * *

Author's Note: Ok, I'm sorry. I said I would get this up by Friday and it's Saturday... but hey, this chapter is a little longer than the others _and _I posted a one-shot. Watcher7, that's a good point... I probably could have waited a bit for Richard to notice Kori was hurt by his comment. I'll keep that in mind in the future. I do have something planned to get the story moving here in a few chapters, though. Thank you all for the reviews... if you can spare another for this chapter, I'd love it! I'll try and get you another chapter next week, ok?

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	6. Sleepless

Life's Canvas

Chapter 6: Sleepless

Richard sent a disgusted glance in the way of his alarm clock, inwardly cursing the luminescent green numbers. He shifted on his bed and tried fruitlessly to persuade sleep to come. 1:00 a.m. and he had yet to even become drowsy. He was confused, yes, but far from tired. Kori was breaking all of his carefully set up rules with such skillful ease it was almost frightening. Richard had refused to let himself become attached in any fashion to anyone. There were very, very few exceptions. Raven was his closest friend, and even she had hardly become to uncover all that was Richard Grayson. It had taken many years of tentative friendship with her before he had come to eve remotely allow the idea he enjoyed her company.

He supposed Victor Stone was something of a friend, but he was more of a bar buddy… he had been a faithful companion all those late nights out at the clubs. Until Victor had tied the knot. It seemed like _everyone_ was married…

None the less, Richard had successfully made becoming his friend a very, very hard task up until now. Then Kori just waltzes in on her little bare feet and declares him her friend within six hours of meeting him. He groaned. Artists…

Richard tensed at the soft sound of steps pattering past his door. He heard the footsteps stop and then continue again, growing faint and finally disappearing from his straining ears. That was definitely not Alfred scurrying by his door, and Bruce hadn't come home that evening. Kori? He rolled from his bed and quietly slipped from his room. Richard rounded the corner and peered down one of the stairwells.

For a moment, his heart stopped. Kori was lying on her back, splayed across the cold marble floor of the foyer and staring blankly up at the chandelier. It briefly crossed his mind that she might be dead. But she obviously wasn't, because if Richard's memory served right, corpses did not usually move their hands up to brush long ruby hair from their faces.

He descended the steps, his brows furrowed. What was with this girl? As he came to stand behind her, he looked over her face and their eyes met. A cheerful smile spread across Kori's face.

"Hello Richard!" she exclaimed, as if she'd been expecting him.

"What are you doing…?" he asked skeptically. She shrugged.

"I had too many ideas buzzing in my head to sleep. I kept tossing and turning and… I thought I'd come down here to sort my thoughts," she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and he hefted a sigh.

"You were thinking too much… so you came down here… to lie on the floor?" he asked, a little disturbed. Kori nodded.

"Yes. I would have gone outside, but I think it might be a bit damp on the lawn," she added. Richard blinked. This woman was insane… "So, why are you up?" she asked. He huffed.

"I'm out here because I heard you running past my room," he grumbled. Kori smirked.

"But you must've been awake to begin with. I wasn't _that _loud. So, why can't you sleep? Surely it's not because you're thinking about the Art Gallery too," she said. He shook his head, noticing for the first time her night attire. Ignoring the violet silk short shorts and matching tank top hanging off of her shoulders to the very best of his ability, he rolled his eyes.

"No, I was just thinking about stuff. And no, I don't want to talk about it," far be it from him to admit he was contemplating Kori and friendship and marriage all on the same thought-process.

"Why? Is it because you were thinking of finger painting? Is that why you don't want me to know? Because you know I was right and that you really did have fun?" she asked, grinning triumphantly.

"No," he said, voice about as far from enthused as it could get. Kori wrinkled her nose.

"Suuurrre…" she winked and Richard sighed, shaking his head.

"Do you ever give up?" he asked. She shook her head and rolled onto her stomach, drawing her knees under her and pulling herself to her feet. "You should go to bed," he commented. Kori shrugged and looked around herself.

"Well, so should you. I didn't think this place could be any more beautiful, but it looks so… magical in the dark. The way the moonlight comes through that window and hits the crystals on the chandelier…" she trailed off and bit her lip, staring at the glittering crystals with delight. Richard just watched her, scolding himself internally. But she really was pretty in the low light, her fiery hair like a halo about her head and her green eyes brighter than emeralds.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He really needed to leave now. When Bruce got back, he was going to go on vacation and leave Gotham and all its beautiful but eccentric artists behind for a good long while. Maybe he'd go to Tahiti or something…

Kori abruptly whirled to face him, catching him a little off guard. "I think I can sleep now. Good night, Richard!" she beamed at him and wrapped his in a quick but suffocating hug before bounding up the stairs and leaving him alone in the foyer. He coughed, regaining the breath that had been squeezed out of him. He inhaled deeply, and noted the scent of orange flower and jasmine still hanging in the air. Whatever…

He ran a hand through his unruly black hair and trudged back towards his room, plodding up the stairs. He was suddenly, very tired. Kori exhausted him, he decided. The odd part was, he didn't hate that fact. As he flopped into his bed, he smirked. He wondered how Raven dealt with Kori's spontaneous hugging…

Richard fell asleep, and surprisingly… there were no nightmares. No horrific replays of his parents deaths… just peace and quiet and the scent of orange flower and jasmine. It would have been a restful sleep, if he hadn't been jarred into consciousness by a terrific crash and Kori's piercing scream.

* * *

Author's Note: Hehe, now you can wait another week to find out what made Kori scream... lol. I had to have at least a little conflict in the story... besides the whole date for the party and Richard's scarred past thing... So here it is! I hope you fancied it. I don't really know if it had much fluff in it though, then again... I'm used to suffocating amounts of it. Either way, I should have another update here in a week or so. And school will be out too! By the way, wasn't Troq great? Talk about Robin being protective... not as much as he was in Betrothed, but he did get pretty ticked AND he was about to jump out of the space ship to go after Star and that mine. Ah, the lovely adrenaline of love, right?

LOL

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	7. Where Secrets Lie

Life's Canvas

Chapter 7: Where Secrets Lie

Richard fell painfully from his bed, grimacing as dull pain shot up his spine. He pushed himself to his feet and was nearly out the door, headed quickly to Kori's room, when a petite form blew past him and dove underneath his covers. He stopped, turning around with very large blue eyes. His gaze came to rest on the small, shivering lump under his blankets and walked over slowly. Soft sniffs greeted his ears.

"Kori? What are you…?" he laid a tentative hand on what he assumed was her back. "Kori?" he asked again. The covers shifted and she peeped out at him with fearful eyes. Tears streaked down her cheeks. "Kori, what happened?"

At that moment, Alfred came swiftly into his room. "Master Richard, Miss Anders' room window has been smashed in. Shall I begin cleaning up the glass?" the old butler asked.

"Uh, yeah, go do that…. Kori, talk to me," he said absently. Kori shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I want Roy… oh, Richard please let me call Roy…" she whimpered. Richard gave her a baffled look.

"Roy? Who's Roy?" he asked. Kori simply looked over at his phone.

"Please… I need to call Roy," she mumbled, still shaking. Richard was confused, but he handed her the phone none the less. Kori's slim fingers flew over the buttons and within seconds she was cradling the phone to her ear as if it were her life line. Richard could do nothing but watch her apprehensively. Was she ok? He noticed a slender trail of scarlet slip down her shoulder. She was cut… He brushed her hair out of the way and lightly touched the cut. She shrunk back from his hand and he frowned. Standing, he paused.

"I'm getting something for that cut… I need to see if there's any glass in it too. You, uh… call this Roy guy or whatever…" he shook his head and jogged from the room, a little tentative of leaving her alone that frightened. Kori held her breath as Roy picked up the phone. His sleepy voice came from the other line.

"Oh Roy… it's happened again--- no. No, I'm not at home. I'm-I'm in Gotham. Mrs. Logan sent me here. She thought it would be good to get my mind off of… yes, but—Roy, please." She hardly noticed Richard had reentered the room until she felt his hands moving lightly over her cut. She winced, but stayed put.

Richard listened to her end of the conversation in puzzlement. "Really, Roy, I'm going to be fine. I think. I'm not alone, I promise. Richard Grayson is here," she was quiet a moment, her tears drying. Her cheeks flushed suddenly, evidently taken off guard by whatever this Roy character had said. "Oh, definitely not. I promise, he's just a friend—my boss. I'll be careful, honest. But… would you mind coming out here tomorrow, for just a little while. I'd feel much better if you came. Thank you, Roy," she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She jerked briefly, the disinfectant Richard had just put on her shoulder stung terribly. She gave a muffled yes to whatever Roy had just said and then she sighed. "Ok. I'll—I'll see you tomorrow then? Thank you so much Roy, I feel so much safer when you're with me. Uh, I'm sure I'll be fine for the rest of the evening. Okay. I-I love you too, alright, bye," she ended the call and looked up to find Richard staring at her somewhat dumb-struck.

Had he really heard her… she loved this guy, Roy… was that really what she'd said? He felt something drop in his gut and he went cold under the realization that he was… jealous. He didn't know why, it wasn't like. It wasn't like he'd thought about _that._

"Richard?" she asked quietly. He blinked and came back to reality.

"Oh, right, your shoulder will be fine… Kori, what happened?" he asked, forcing himself to concentrate at what was at hand. He wasn't like that. He didn't feel that way for her. Not after one day. Besides, he didn't feel that way about anyone anymore.

"Nothing. The window, the window broke is all," she murmured, averting her gaze.

"You're not telling me the truth," he said quietly.

"No, really. The window broke, there's nothing-nothing else to say. Roy is coming to see me tomorrow. Before I go with you to the gallery. That'll be ok, right?" she asked. She swallowed, obviously still frightened. Richard raked a hand through his hair and sighed. Fine, she didn't want to talk about it. Either way, there was something bigger going on.

"Sure, whatever. As long as you're gonna be ok. Do you wanna go alone? To see, uh, Roy?" he was sorely confused at the moment, and off hand it was killing him. Who the hell was Roy? Why wouldn't Kori just tell him what happened? Was someone trying to hurt her? And why was he so friggin messed up by it all!

"No… I mean, you can come with me if you'd like to meet him," she coughed. Richard nodded slowly.

"Ok," he muttered. "You should try to get some more sleep. I guess you're gonna be meeting him here in a few hours anyhow," he shrugged. Kori nodded, but made no attempt to move. Richard sank down on the bed beside her. Still, she didn't move.

"I should go back to my room, shouldn't I…" she murmured. Richard shrugged.

"I could put you in one of the other rooms, the glass is probably cleaned up now, but the window won't be fixed until… well probably not for a couple days," he glanced at her. She didn't answer, but rather scooted out from under his covers. Kori leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Richard nearly leapt away, surprised and all the more confused.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just burst into your room like this. In fact, I probably shouldn't have come here at all. Not with—I'm being selfish. Coming here… putting you in… danger like this…" she didn't seem to realize what she was saying, and trailed off as she slipped into the world of dreams. Richard swallowed. In danger? What in the world? He looked over at her, her frame relaxed as she leaned against him and her face content with only her drying tears indicating she'd ever been frightened. Richard shifted her on his shoulder and leaned back against the wall. He closed his eyes. He'd sort things out in the morning, or at least he'd try to.

Moments later, he'd fallen back asleep with his arm loosely draped around her waist and the scent of orange flower and jasmine flooding his senses. In the morning, it was inevitable he'd mentally kill himself for letting a coworker sleep in his room, but at the moment, Kori had him so exhausted it didn't matter. He'd never had anyone tire his so much in his entire life. Nor had anyone captured any sort of feeling from him so quickly.

* * *

Author's Note: Well... here you go. You shall see exactly what the Roy/Kori relationship is tomorrow. And yes, Kori has a few dark secrets all her own. Odd, isn't it? I hope you liked it! I'll update sooner now that school is out. Um... where and when are all of you seeing Stranded? It so has not played yet. At least not where I am. :( :(

Love,Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	8. Biker Baby

Life's Canvas

Chapter 8: Biker Baby

Richard woke up, groggily blinking his fascinatingly cerulean eyes. A yawn skewed his features for a moment, and he wriggled his fingers. His arm was asleep. It was then that he became painfully aware of Kori, contentedly sleeping away in his arms. He then remembered the incidents of the previous hours and his eyes drifted to the clock. Almost eight. He'd had a total of seven hours sleep. That was plenty for him, but obviously not for Kori.

He gently shook her shoulder with his free hand and she groaned, clinging tighter. "Kori, wake up…" he muttered. This wasn't what he needed at the moment. "Kori!" he insister. Kori yawned and rolled off of him, falling back onto his bed without batting an eye.

"Five more minutes, Roy… I don't wanna go to work yet… " she mumbled. Richard stiffened. Ok… so Roy was a usual fixture in her bed? Or did he simply live there and come to her room to wake her? Or did he drive out to see her every morning?

"Kori, it's Richard. You gotta wake up now." He said. Kori's eyes flew open and she bolted upright so suddenly that Richard found himself scrambling backwards to press his back against his foot board. "Um, mornin' Sunshine?" He laughed sheepishly. Kori's wild-eyed expression faded, and she drew her knees to her chest, blushing furiously.

"Oh, sorry… I was simply startled… I…" she shook her head. Instead of continuing the thought, she looked to the clock and with a squeak she vaulted from the bed. "Ah! We must be going now! Roy will be waiting at the little café I'm parked at… um… The Black Cup, I believe." She nodded at the recollection. Kori was about to bound out of the door when Richard came up and placed a hand on her arm. She stopped and looked over curiously. "Yes?"

"You might wanna change…" he grinned. Kori seemed to realize she was still in her night clothes and her hands flew to the sides of her face in slight shock.

"Goodness yes!" she exclaimed. Richard released her arm with an amused nod and closed the door after her in order to change himself.

They met ten minutes later, standing in the foyer. Kori smiled softly as Richard jogged down the stairs. "You will like Roy. He is very similar to you… but he does not find me so annoying," she giggled and winked. Richard understood she was kidding… but it kind of hurt. He didn't like this sensitivity she was bringing out in him.

"You're not annoying at all. I-I enjoy your company. You're just… the most vivacious business partner I've ever had," he said as he came to stand in front of her. Kori smiled broadly.

"Really? That means a lot. Especially with all the trouble I caused last night." She shrugged. Richard nodded and peered over at her shoulder. She saw him look and tilted her head.

"It's fine. Shall we be going now?" she asked. She looked anxious, he decided. Richard took her hand lightly and led her outside into the nippy late morning air. She inhaled deeply. "It's beautiful out!" she grinned. Richard didn't say anything, instead he took her around the side of wrap around drive way and opened the door to his black mustang. Kori didn't pay much attention, her thoughts very far elsewhere. "RICHARD!" she squealed. He jumped at the sudden cry.

"What!" he asked, disturbed.

"Is that your motorcycle?" she asked innocently. He nodded slowly, blue eyes narrowing behind his dark shades. He had chosen to loosen up a bit on wardrobe today and was donned in dark jeans and a polo… still a bit more conservative than Kori; who had elected to wear a short white peasant-style skirt and matching white top that fell around her shoulders. Her hair was swept up in two paint brushes again and she had actually worn shoes. These were strappy weave sandals with obnoxiously chunky heels.

"Yeah… It's my bike… why?" he asked carefully. She looked over at him with sparkling green eyes.

"Can we ride it to the café?" she inquired hopefully, her hands clasped in front of her.

"You're in a skirt," he replied bluntly… as if that would settle it with Kori!

"And your point is?" she tilted her head to the side. Richard opened and closed his mouth a few times. Well, she should know quite well what the point was. Flippy, short skirts were not bike-wear. At all.

"Uh, you might not be comfortable…"

"Oh Richard, stop being silly! Please? I've never been on a motorcycle and it seems like so much fun…" she cut him off, batting her lashes. Richard shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever you say," he sighed. To tell the truth, he actually found it rather amusing. With that as her go ahead, she grabbed his arm and raced to the bike. She hopped from foot to foot in excitement.

"This will be so thrilling! Roy has a bike… it's blue. He won't let me ride it though," she bit her lip as Richard held out his helmet to her. "What will you wear?" she asked. Richard shrugged.

"I'm fine. Put it on. We're gonna be late," he said. Kori nodded hastily, and jammed it onto her head. The paint brushes slipped out and a waterfall of scarlet hair tumbled out of the bottom of the helmet. Richard helped her onto the back of the bike and got on himself. Kori laughed as the engine roared to life. Richard smirked. He liked that sound too. Kori wrapped her arms around him, and for a brief moment he was disoriented under the trusting closeness of her touch. He sucked in a deep breath, kicked back the stand and allowed the bike to surge forward.

They shot down the streets of Gotham, Kori's hair flying back like a banner, announcing their presence. Her skirts billowed around her and teased the bike seat. She laughed, tightening her hold on Richard and throwing back her head. Richard smiled at the sound. She was enchanting like this. "Faster, Richard!" she peeped. Richard obliged willingly and the bike shot out between the cars, dodging traffic in a less than legal manner… but it was a hell of a lot of fun. They neared the café, and Richard reluctantly began to slow down. Kori brought her head over his shoulder. "Roy can wait just a little bit. Can we keep going?" she asked.

He hardly needed urging and they sped off again, roaring around the block. "Richard, you lied!" she called over the growl of the engine.

"What do you mean?" he yelled back.

"You said you didn't have fun!" she replied. Richard gave a bark of laughter and revved the bike as they stopped at a red light.

"Ok, fine… I lied then," he looked over his shoulder at her and Kori shivered as their eyes met, but it was brief because the light changed and they were off again. They looped back to the café and parked around back, next to Kori's car. Richard lifted a brow at the lavender vehicle but said nothing. Kori hopped off of the bike and gave Richard a quick hug as he got off. He awkwardly patted her back and she snickered at his incompetence.

"For someone so well known as a play boy even out in Jump City, you sure are shy," she jabbed him in the chest and he grimaced.

"It's your fault," he muttered under his breath. Kori didn't hear, already pulling him off to the front of the café. As they rounded the corner Kori dropped his hand. He noticed for a split second, her face fell and she seemed to go cold in her spot. It was so quick though, he couldn't have been absolutely sure because the next moment she was rushing over to one of the tables.

"Roy!" she exclaimed, bounding into the arms of a man about Richard's height with red hair a few shades more orange that Kori's. Richard was further shocked when Roy planted a firm kiss to her lips. Kori indulged and then turned back in Richard's direction, her cheeks a bit flushed. Whether it was from the ride or Roy's kiss, he couldn't be sure.

"Richard, I want you to meet Roy Harper… In the police force they all call him Speedy," she grinned and laid her head on Roy's shoulder. Roy waved and offered a friendly smile, but behind his own dark glasses his brown eyes were anything but sociable.

* * *

Author's Note: Yeah, there's something going on between Kori and Roy, yeah, Roy is Roy Harper aka Speedy and yeah, Richard is jealous. Hope you liked it... see! I updated faster so... ha! And I have no clue what Stranded is about but the screen shots are absolutely hilarious and I'm seeing MAJOR R/S fluff. Go to screen shots to find em. I've also been notified that there might be a TT movie! If anyone knows if this is true, please tell me!

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran


	9. Colors of the Past

Life's Canvas

Chapter 9: Colors of the Past

Richard looked at the man holding Kori stiffly. "Hi…" he mumbled. Roy nodded.

"Hi. Thanks for taking care of Kori last night," Roy responded, equally wary. Kori laughed.

"Oh come on boys, be nice! Roy, thank goodness you came. I swear the only reason I got any sleep last night is because I knew you were coming…" she snuggled into Roy's chest and Richard lifted a brow. Was that _really_ the only reason she fell asleep? Roy kissed her lightly on the head.

Richard came and sat in one of the empty seats at the table and Roy sat across from him. Kori smiled and sat between them. She winked at Richard and he offered a thankful grin in return. At least she didn't expect him to like Roy. "So you two are…?" Richard asked. Roy smirked.

"Kori's my little star. Aren't you, sweetheart?" he said. Kori flushed.

"Roy and I are dating." She clarified. Richard nodded, skillfully ignoring the gnawing sensation that festered in his gut. A waitress came up and took their orders, Richard and Roy both asking for straight black coffee; much to the annoyance of each other. Kori ordered a cup of water and a muffin.

Richard found, to his distress, that he could hardly function at the moment. His eyes were painfully latched onto Roy's hand, which was resting on Kori's leg. Roy seemed to notice, and he tilted his head to the side and watched Richard through narrowed gaze; his mop of red-orange hair falling over the top of his sunglasses.

"Kori, what happened to your shoulder?" Roy asked. Kori tensed, and Richard watched as her slim fingers came to rest on the bandages.

"Nothing, really." She muttered. Roy frowned.

"Kori, don't keep stuff from me. If she hurt you I'm gonna…"

"No! I mean, I'm fine. We don't even know if she was responsible," she cut in. Richard frowned. Who was 'she' and what did 'she' want with Kori?

"Don't be dumb. You know it was her!" Roy growled. Kori pulled back as if bitten.

"Hey! Don't call her dumb. She's not," Richard snapped, agitated. Roy scowled.

"This isn't your problem, Rich Boy," Roy retorted. Richard clenched his fists, but Kori touched his arm lightly. He looked up at her, remotely surprised.

"It's fine. Roy, please try to be cordial…"

"But for all I know, he's working with her!" Roy spat. Kori shook her head furiously.

"Don't even consider such a thing! Richard would never hurt me. I know it," she said. Roy threw back his head.

"God, Kori, you don't even know this guy. You met him… what… 24 hours ago?" he rubbed his temples. Richard rolled his eyes. He _was_ sitting at the same table, you know… "Look, even if he's fine that's not the point. Your sister tried to…"

"Don't talk about her, Roy. I don't want to hate her. I really don't." Kori murmured. "Besides! Madame Logan sent me here hoping I could get my mind off of things. I'll just be careful and I'm sure everything will be fine. I have the gallery to attend to," she said. Roy shook his head.

"No. You know that's not why she sent you here. Rae thought it'd be safer. And I think she figured it best you didn't see her loose her composure and beat the crap out of the little weasel…"

"Terra was my best friend. Just because she went with my sister doesn't mean she's a weasel." Kori sighed.

"She _betrayed_ you, Kori. She betrayed all of us. We thought you were safe in Jump City, but obviously not. So now Rae's got you in Gotham. Either way, Carmen's going to hunt you down and Terra's going to help her." Roy replied. Kori bit her lip.

"But Carmen's my sister and I can't just…"

"Turn her in, Kori. You could get her this time. I can get some of my buddies out here and we can find a way to prove it was Carmen that broke in to your room. Then all we have to do is find her and lock her up!" Roy pleaded. Kori stood abruptly.

"I can't do that Roy. I'm sorry. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to meet with you today because off hand, I feel worse than when I got here. Richard, can we go back to the manor now?" she asked imperiously. Richard had been silent the entire time, but he now jumped to his feet.

"Uh, sure." He said. Kori nodded and grabbed his arm; dragging him away before anything more could be said.

Richard and Kori didn't talk on the ride home, it seemed like conversation should wait until they got back. As he walked her upstairs, Richard finally broke the silence. "I'll take you to a new room. I'm guessing… you don't wanna tell me what's going on, huh?" he said quietly. Kori sighed wearily.

"No… I should tell you. I guess the Gallery Building can wait until this afternoon. But I've got to go today; I had some of my paintings and a few of the pieces I bought sent up from Jump City and they should be here today… I overnighted them." She mumbled. Richard nodded and opened the door to the room for her. The two trudged over to the bed and flopped down.

"So. What's going on, then?" Richard prompted. Kori sucked in a deep breath.

"I grew up on Tamaran. It's a little island in the South Pacific. I was eight when we moved here… well, to California. It was just my sister and I then. I had a brother, Ry, but he died with my parents in the fire that wiped out over half of Tamaran's population. So it was just Carmen and me. It was ok at first, we lived in an orphanage and Carmen always stood up for me in front of the other kids and even the workers. No one was really nice there.

Carmen bossed me around a lot, but she was still my big sister and she took care of me. She's three years older than I am. As soon as Carmen was eighteen, she took me away from the orphanage with her and we got an apartment. The orphanage was closed soon after for abusing the kids. It was about that time when this old friend of the family got in contact with us. He was also our parents' lawyer. He came to read us the will… and that's when things went down hill.

You see, my parents had something of a fortune saved up for us kids. Ry would've gotten the house and my sister and I would've gotten the money. The problem was, the will hadn't been completed before they died so it read that all of their remaining funds went to me… not my sister. So I guess she got jealous because legally, she couldn't get any of the inheritance.

Things would have been fine if I'd just given her the money, but I was a thoughtless fifteen-year-old and I got it in my head to donate it all to an art school… because art was my passion and what not. That's how I met Madame Logan. She was eighteen when I met her… I think she hadn't met you yet," Kori paused, glancing at Richard. He nodded, his eyes glued to her. How could all of this be real? Kori went on. "Anyways, Raven had just started to help her mom with some management of Azerath School of Fine Arts and I met with her and gave them… well… all but five thousand dollars of the money. The five thousand gave to charity.

I didn't need the money, neither did my sister, so I didn't really think she'd be upset. But when Carmen found out… To put things simply, I had to leave. Raven wanted to help me after all of the money I gave to her school, so she set me up with a place two hours away from the school in Jump City. Roy moved in because he was eighteen and could sign off the rent. He was one of Raven's friends. We thought things were going to be alright, but then things kept on happening… like my car was stolen, my apartment was broken into, and some other things too. Roy had a suspicion it was Carmen, but we weren't sure.

And then, when I turned eighteen and Roy moved out so I could have my own place, Carmen actually came and threatened me. It was scary, to have my own sister after me. So from then on I was constantly hopping around Jump City, living in new places and trying to keep away from Carmen. Roy and my other friend Terra came with me everywhere, and I was actually alright… but then Terra left and the next time I saw her she was with Carmen when they shot up my apartment complex. They got away because I was the only witness in speaking condition and I wasn't about to turn in my sister and best friend. So when you called and asked for help, I guess Madame Logan just thought it'd be good to get me out of Jump City for good.

After the gallery is finished, I'll probably move into a town house somewhere out in the Gotham suburbs…" she sighed and shrugged. "So that's what's going on. And Roy thinks it was probably Carmen and Terra that broke the window last night." Richard stared at her in stunned silence. It sounded like a soap opera to him. A really bad soap opera. Kori smiled bleakly. "I just hope she doesn't try to hurt you too… if it was her here last night," she murmured.

Richard shook his head. "Damn…" he finally managed. Kori frowned.

"Don't look at me like you're sorry for what's happening to me. It's not your fault, and I'm perfectly fine for the moment!" she grinned suddenly, and popped off of the bed. She pulled Richard up to stand next to her. "Besides, you've got a hard past too… I can see it in your eyes. I've just got to wait until _you're_ ready tell _me_ about it. Either way, we can help each other keep a positive look out on things, right?" she said. Richard shook his head.

"I dunno if I can help you much on that. I'm not very good on keeping positive myself…" he apologized. Kori slapped his arm lightly.

"Nonsense! Just being my friend is fine enough," she giggled and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you Richard," she sighed and let him go. "Now, I think I can be ready to go to the gallery in about an hour… will that be alright?" she asked. Richard nodded mutely and headed for the door. He heard her shift behind him. "I haven't depressed you, have I?" she asked, a very small hint of amusement lacing her voice. She seemed to find his distress at her situation almost entertaining.

"No, I'll be fine… I'm just surprised that _you're_ fine," he turned to face her. "Really, if there's anything I can do to help keep you safe I- just ask," he faltered. Kori smiled softly. He looked adorable right now, she decided. He seemed just as confused about what he could do to help as he was about the fact he could genuinely care about her situation at all. The man was obviously very bad when it came to emotions. She came up to him and brushed some of his unruly black hair from his face.

"Now seriously, Richard, don't make me regret I told you all of this. You getting upset about it won't make it any better, alright?" she asked chidingly, scolding him like a child. He nodded, but rolled his eyes at her perpetual optimism. She laughed and, on impulse, kissed him on the cheek. He met her eyes, startled and perplexed. She couldn't help herself and began to laugh again, clutching her sides. "Oh gracious… don't act like it's such a crime! It's not like a girl hasn't kissed _you_ before! Now give me an hour, Richard and I'll meet you down stairs. Just be sure not to tell Roy!" she peeped, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as she continued to laugh. Richard's shocked expression disfigured into a scowl.

" Oh shut up, Kori," he snapped, good-naturedly.

"Mhm, whatever you say, Richard." She yelped, gasping for breath. She watched him leave the room, still suppressing giggles, before flopping back onto the bed.

* * *

Author's Note: AHHHH! Random chapter ensues! Ok, first of all... be happy! I updated in one day! mwa! This chapter had a lot of random emotions in it... I don't know, it felt a bit sticky to me. I needed to clue you all in on what's going on, though. And yay! Richard got a kiss from Kori! Not quite what you're all waiting for, I know, but it'll come someday... Yes, Kori is being entertainingly forward even though I think she's a little oblivious to the emotions both she AND Richard are really feeling... and yes, she is frighteningly optimistic. "Oh, lovely day m'dears, the brids are singing, the sun is shining, and my sister wants to kill me!" says our beloved little Kori... haha. Well, Richard's jealousy will deffinately flare in upcoming chapters, please don't think I'm done withHarper vs. Grayson!I'm hyper at the moment, quite proud that I found a way to incorperate Speedy, Tamaran, Blackfire, and Terra... Oh, and Blackfire is Carmen because her Tamaranian name in the comics was Comand'r and I didn't wanna name her Com... so she's Carmen. Don't kill me aight? Well, much love!

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

P.S.- Puilzberry, I will read your fic soon... don't despair, I'm just terribly busy at the moment. My novel is becomingimmensly time-consuming. Oh, and I CAN NOT WAIT until Stranded premeires in the US! Now... is it coming on June 4, or June 11? I've heard both but haven't been able to verify either myself. If you know, please tell me. I'm doing my best not watch it online and be good and wait for the premeire, but I fear I shall burstsoon!


	10. Date with Death

Life's Canvas

Chapter 10: Date with Death

An hour later, Kori came downstairs and met Richard as planned. She was in a pair of old jeans, paint stains faded, but evident. She wore a loose white tunic with the sleeves rolled up and she had pulled her hair back in a sloppy ponytail. Under one arm she carried a bag with her pallet and various brushes as well as her little jars of paint. Under the other arm were three blank canvases and her "Spring Robin" painting. Richard hadn't changed, save his shirt being a little rumpled from lounging on the couch.

"Ready?" he asked. Kori smiled and nodded. From the look on his face, he hadn't put thoughts of her past to rest yet. "We're going to have to take the car this time. I don't think you can carry all that on the bike…" he continued. Kori sighed softly, pouting.

"I suppose. You must teach me how to ride one of those things on my own before I leave," she decided. Richard grinned, but there was an odd sense of dread as she spoke. He didn't particularly want her to leave. And with his past, he figured it to be unlikely they would remain in touch… despite what Kori told him.

"Sure, but let's go." He shrugged. Kori beamed and trotted up beside him. "Want me to carry anything?" he asked. She tilted her head to the side.

"You can take the paints…" she replied. He nodded and took the bag. With one arm free now, she slipped it into his and proceeded to escort him out the door. Richard laughed quietly. It was then that he recalled the party next week. He still hadn't fulfilled his promise to Raven… he had to invite Kori. Of course, it was now beginning to seem like a much more attractive prospect.

"Uh, Kori?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"You remember that party I'm invited to?"

"Yes, that was when you told me about that Kitten girl… why?" she snickered. Richard huffed.

"You don't know _how_ much torture Kitten is… so don't even go there. But, that's beside the point. I was wondering if you wanted to come, "he said. Oh, the lovely ways jealousy can manipulate the tongue! Richard now realized inviting her would mean she'd need a date, which would imply Roy in all likelihood. Not that any other random guy would have made him feel better anyhow. So… there was a logical way to get out of this… "And, if you wouldn't mind, you could come as my date. I mean, because I don't have one yet and you don't have one and… it-it could be fun or something," he muttered.

Kori watched him stumbling over the words as they drove towards the building, his eyes very intently placed on the road ahead. She smiled gently. "I'm sorry, Richard, but I can't…" she said apologetically. Richard was surprised to find he was actually depressed with her rejection.

"Oh, uh, sure. No problem… is it because of Roy or something?" he blurted. Kori laughed then, her voice light and carefree. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, confused.

"No, not at all. I simply don't have anything to wear…" she chuckled. Richard couldn't help himself, and began to laugh as well.

"That's not a problem, Kori. We can go get you a dress, it's no problem at all," he sighed. Kori smiled.

"Really? Because I'd love to go," she said hopefully. They pulled into the parking lot and stepped from the car.

"Ok, great. We can go to the mall after this, if you want," he said. Kori nodded dutifully.

"Of course!" she said happily. She paused, and Richard was frightened to see a slow and rather sly grin work its way onto her pretty features. She slunk over to him and stood half an inch from his face. Richard swallowed and lifted a brow.

"Kori…?" he asked. Her grin widened.

"So, I get to be the date of the infamous Richard Grayson? Now why ever would a lowly little artist like me get such an _honor_ as that?" she purred. Richard rolled his eyes.

"Because, as you put it, you're my friend… and I really don't wanna have to deal with Kitten again," he snapped. She shook her head, hooding her eyes.

"I highly doubt that, sir. After all, when did the 'Babs' girl fall out of the picture? You think you're being such a sneaky little boy, don't you?" she continued. Richard narrowed his eyes. What was she getting at? He didn't think of her that way, and she knew it… she probably knew it better than he knew it considering the idea was becoming hard to grasp.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You knew I'd bring Roy… and you don't like Roy!" she giggled triumphantly, slapping his arm. Richard sighed.

"Oh, yeah, Kori… you sure got me on that one," he deadpanned. Kori shrugged and nodded, taking her bag of paints from him.

"Anyhow, the gallery looks nice from the outside… shall we go in? I think I see my packages on the front steps there!" she pranced ahead, and he watched her dance up the steps, barefooted again, and place her things on the ground to look at her packages. He sauntered up towards her as she picked up a letter on top of the parcels with shaky hands.

"What's up?" he asked as she stared at the writing on the envelope.

"Carmen…" she whispered. He watched as she tore into the envelope, pulling out the letter, her breath coming out hard. What had she done now! As she read the letter, the color drained from her face. "Oh God…" she choked out, tears coming to her eyes. She swayed unsteadily, and Richard grabbed her around the waist, supporting her.

"What? What happened? What did she say?" he asked.

"Roy… Roy's in there, Richard," she pointed towards the doors. "My sister… she-she…" Kori broke off, sobbing and slumping forward. She would have fallen had Richard not been holding her.

"What! Kori, what's your sister done?" he asked, becoming urgent.

"She's k-killed him…" she cried out, dropping the letter and tearing from his arms. Kori rushed to the doors and yanked them open, unlocked from having been forced open earlier. She ran in and the door swung shut behind her before Richard could grab it. He jerked open the handle and rushed in after her, only to stand cold.

Roy lay sprawled across the cold marble floor, swimming in a puddle of his own drying blood. Richard recognized the glassy-gazed look of death on Roy's face, the same as his parents had looked so many years ago. Kori had thrown herself across him, her small body wracked with sobs.

Richard quickly moved to her side, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Oh, Kori…" he managed. He hated seeing death, but watching someone as innocent as Kori clutching to a corpse was nearly too much.

"Roy, Roy I'm so sorry… so, so sorry." She murmured feverishly, her hands clutching his bloody shirt. Richard pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911, quickly reporting what had happened while Kori continued weep and hold Roy. She had pulled him into her lap now, and was slowly rocking back and forth, murmuring she was sorry over and over. Richard flipped the phone shut.

"The police are coming," he said. Kori tried to nod, but it ended up as just a shiver and more tears.

"It's my fault, Richard… it's my fault…" she whimpered. Richard tried to pry her gently from the corpse, but she refused to budge.

"It's not your fault, Darling," he whispered softly. Both were completely oblivious to what he'd just called her.

"Y-yes it is… If-if I had just turned her in at first, like he asked me… oh, Roy…" she cried. Richard shook his head.

"Kori, it's not your fault. One witness couldn't have convicted a person of murder… not when it was a mass murder that would have ended in the Death Penalty… Kori, it's not your fault," he said again. Kori shook her head furiously.

"Richard, leave. Don't stay with me. I-I'm putting… putting you in danger. Carmen… she'll come after you next," she whispered, her voice hollow. Richard growled.

"I'm not leaving you, Kori. You're in more danger than I am. I'm not leaving you," he said firmly. Kori cried harder, clutching Roy's body to her chest. Richard finally heard the sound of sirens in the distance and moments later police were darting into the building. He watching as they painfully took Roy away from Kori, bustling about with sheets and cameras. Richard grabbed one of the officers and told them about the letter outside and told her it had been written by Kori's sister.

The officer nodded and rushed out to get it. Kori was making a commotion, trying to claw her way back to Roy, and the officers were struggling to hold her back. Richard ran to her side and grabbed her arm firmly. "Kori, come on!" he pleaded. Kori looked at him, her emerald eyes so haunted it was frightening. "Kori, please…" he whispered. She fell limp, and he caught her in his arms, helping her away swiftly and ushering her out the door.

Once outside, Richard held her close to him. "Come on, Kori… please don't do this to yourself. It's not your fault, ok?" he soothed, trying desperately to calm the quaking girl. He heard a door slam and looked up to see Raven and Garfield rushing up the steps, Raven clutching a letter in her hand.

"Anders!" Raven barked, running to Kori's side. Kori barely pulled her head up to look at her caller.

"Madame Logan… Roy…" she whispered, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't continue and buried her head in Richard's chest. Raven took a deep breath and brought her hand up to her forehead.

"I know, Kori. I got a letter too. Damn. I should've killed Terra, that little…"

"Hon, please. You don't need to do this," Gar cut in, wrapping his wife up in his arms. She leaned against him wearily.

"T-Terra did this too? Both… both of them?" Kori asked, peeking up at them with horrified eyes, her hands clutching Richard's shirt. He held her tightly, running his hand up and down her back gently, his eyes closed as he tried to sort out everything.

"Of course. My letter was from Terra… I take it Carmen wrote yours," Raven snarled. Kori whimpered and nodded. The violet-haired woman grimaced.

"Just... Gar, what the hell do we do now? We can just trash the gallery at this point, Kori's not safe… and I'm guessing Dick's not safe either," she muttered. "Off hand, neither of us are either." She added. Gar kissed her cheek consolingly.

"The letters, they weren't signed and nobody actually saw the murder… but at least now they're suspects. They'll get caught soon, I'm sure. As for Kori and Rich… I don't know what to say," Gar sighed, running a hand through his short brown hair. Raven sucked in a deep breath.

"I don't know what to tell them either. Dick, we need to explain a lot to you now…"

"No, Kori already told me. All I know is that I need to get in contact with Bruce… I mean, there was a break in and a murder on his property. He'll wanna know. Kori and I… we'll lie low. I'm staying with her, there's no way anyone will get near her without me close by. We can't just discontinue outside stuff though, we have to keep acting normal. People will wonder if Richard Grayson just stops making public appearances all of the sudden. And I don't think this murder needs to get out to public. Media will just screw the investigation up," he said. Raven and Gar nodded. Kori pressed herself even closer to Richard. "I'm taking her home… now," he muttered. Raven nodded quietly. As Richard led Kori away, Raven grabbed the painting things Kori had left on the steps and hurried after them to put them in the trunk.

She did so and then quickly returned to Gar's arms. "Gar… this is getting out of hand," she said quietly. Gar nodded, kissing her.

"I know… but I'm by your side every step of the way. I promise," he said. Raven nodded and gave him a weak, but thankful smile.

"I'm worried about Kori though. She's tough, but she's just so naïve and innocent. She'll get herself in trouble without realizing it. Poor thing just lost the one strong thing left in her life," Raven whispered. Gar shook his head, tightening his hold on Raven's slender waist.

"I'm worried about her too, but Richard's plenty strong enough to keep her safe. He's good for her and she's good for him. Grayson's changed since the wedding… Kori's healing him, and I off hand I think he's going to be the only one who can heal her," he said. Raven looked up at her husband.

"Since when were you so deep," she sighed. Gar smiled softly.

"Since you needed me to be. Now let's go home… we need to leave the police to their business. Besides… someone has to arrange a proper funeral for Roy, right?" he said glumly. Raven nodded and let him lead her out to the car, still sheltered with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Kori cried quietly the whole way back to Wayne manor, and Richard could do nothing but sit there with her and hold her hand. As they got out of the car back at the manor, Kori wrapped herself around him. "Thank you Richard…" she murmured. He nodded mutely and hugged her back. What he would've given to be able to kiss her every tear and sorrow away.

* * *

Author's Note: Mwahaha! I am supreme ruler of updates! Um, right... well... here's yet another chapter. I'm trying to get a chappie out a day so that I can finish the story before I got to camp... at which point I will most likely be on a three week hiatus. But I promise to have a new chappie story for you after I come back from that. I'm guessing I've still got a while to go to finish this so I'm gonna have to write like crazy. I have no idea where the murder came from... I was just writing and it popped up, so... yeah. sorry? Well... perhaps I will be able to beat my recorn number of reviews on one story after this chapter. I'm pretty close, so that'll be cool if I do. Comments are appreciated, Rob/Star fans... unite! You know, I am gonna have SO much fun gloating about Stranded... it plows all of the rob/rae shippers into the ground! Oh, and I was looking at screen shots from Prophecy, and it looks like Rae has a little more time with BB in the episode and that Robin gets saved by Star once or something... so that's pretty good too ;)

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran O.o


	11. Grief Never Bound Jealousy

Life's Canvas

Chapter 11: Grief Never Bound Jealousy

Richard led Kori up to her room, her cold hand in his own. He felt guilty. Really, really guilty. He should've been upset. A man had just died… a man whom Kori knew well, at that. But he wasn't that upset. He was more affected by seeing Kori so distressed. Of course, that was part of the problem. He was jealous of dead guy. And if Kori had known the exact thoughts running through his head at that moment, it was likely she would think he was the scum of the earth.

Richard sat her down on the bed gently, and he tried to carefully loosen his hand from her own. Kori would have none of it, though, and yanked him down to sit beside her. She pressed her head to his shoulder and clung to his arm like a terrified child. "Richard… what do I do now?" she asked, her voice far away. He sighed, using his free hand to stroke the back of her head.

"I don't know… I don't know," he murmured. Kori sniffed and shuddered.

"I'll kill myself if she goes after you too," Kori whispered. Richard shook his head and cupped her chin in his hand, bringing her face up to look at him.

"Don't say that," he said sternly. Kori simply closed her eyes.

"But it's true, I won't be able to live if I loose you too… oh, what if they go after Madame Logan too? Raven's been nothing but a friend to me," she shivered, fresh tears slithering down her cheeks. "And she's just been married too," Kori sighed pitifully. Richard wasn't sure what to do to help her; he was having a hard enough time keeping his envy at bay. Kori seemed like she must have loved Roy so much… he remembered she had acted a little tense at the café, but he was fairly sure she had just been unhappy with Roy's protectiveness.

"It's ok, Kori… you're not going to loose me or Raven or Gar. I promise," he said softly, pulling her into his embrace. She clung to him, burying her head against his neck, her tears running down onto the collar of his shirt. "But Kori… you should change… both of us should. Our shirts have blood on them," he muttered. Kori stifled another sob and nodded, sliding from his arms slowly. As he got up to leave, she touched his shoulder and he turned, facing her curiously. "Yes?" he inquired. Her eyes told him everything… she was frightened; she didn't want him out of her sight. "Kori, I promise you I'll be right back. Just one moment, ok?" he soothed. Kori nodded reluctantly and Richard sighed, wrapping his arms around her briefly. She settled against him, and seemed a little better as he let her free.

He gave her an encouraging smile and wiped her drying tears from her face. Richard left her, and went to his room. He changed his shirt slowly, his mind far elsewhere. He sighed and sat on his bed, tugging at the dark grey T-shirt he'd slipped on. This had to be the worst time to decide you'd fallen in love. He groaned, slamming a pillow to his face. _Kori's boyfriend just died, Dick, get a hold of yourself!_ He proceeded to mentally brutalize himself and would've continued to do so had Kori not come to his door. She knocked lightly on his door and he came out to meet her, at which point she threw herself on him again. He noted she had on a long black peasant skirt and a thin black blouse on to mach. She had also conformed to the ways of shoes and was donned in a pair of black boots. Her hair was tied curtly up in a tight bun.

Richard frowned, running his hand along her back. She looked so different… Kori let him lead her down stairs and into the massive living room, settling her on a large leather couch. He took a seat beside her and she remained rigid, making no move to rest against him but rather staring darkly down at her hands, fidgeting with them in her lap. Richard watched her carefully.

"What can I do to see you smile again?" he asked slowly, his eyes still locked on her face.

"Bring back Roy… what I wouldn't do to feel him hold me again…" she murmured, her eyes glassing over and becoming so distant. Richard felt a slight pain in his chest. He'd hoped she would've said something else… anything else. He didn't want to talk about Roy. He wanted to forget the man had existed or played any part in Kori's life. He wanted her to forget she was sad and smile again and force him to finger paint again.

He hadn't known that just a few short hours could have him so desperate to see that smile again. Imaginably, he was considerably agitated four days later. Kori had slowly drifted away from him, refusing to seek comfort in his open arms and hardly speaking a word. He could tell, the way she looked at him, she was afraid of letting him help her. As much as she had expressed her desire to help him heal, she couldn't let him do the same for her. It was reasonable why, though. She felt like she was betraying Roy to seek comfort in another man's embrace, even if it he was her friend and nothing more… and she was afraid that the closer she allowed her heart to drift to Richard, the more likely Carmen and Terra were to try and hurt him.

So there they were, standing on the steps before Wayne Manor and waiting for Raven Gar. Kori was, unfortunately, stunning. She had left her more "free" wardrobe behind and was standing in a slim black dress that came to her knees, a short suit jacket over it, the sleeves coming to her elbows and a pair of black pumps restricting her dainty feet. Richard was in a plain black suit, standing a little ways away from Kori, the artist seemed to have a difficult time remaining anywhere near to him. That didn't keep him from watching her though. Her face was drawn tight as she suppressed streams of tears, and her eyes were closed in the effort. The funeral was likely to be unbearable to her.

Raven and Gar pulled up in their silver SUV and Richard and Kori got in wordlessly. Raven was driving with Gar sitting beside her and tightly holding her hand so Kori and Dick were confined to the back seat. The ride to the cemetery was oppressive, the depression hanging over them like a dark cloud. Finally, Raven spoke. Her voice was strained with the effort to remain composed.

"They did and autopsy…" Raven mumbled. Kori gave a small whimper from her seat and Richard looked to see the first tears slither down her cheeks. "So… we're just burying his ashes, I- there wasn't much other choice, Kori. After the autopsy it was just best he be cremated… I mean, I don't even know that they would've let us bury his body… the way they…" Raven shook her head and went on driving in silence. Gar squeezed her hand. Kori cried softly all the way there, but once they were actually at the grave site, she stood rigid and dry-eyed. Wisps of auburn hair pulled free in the slight breeze and glittered in the sunlight. Kori frowned but did no more.

Richard hesitated and came to stand at Kori's side, his eyes briefly landing on Raven and a slight jolt of surprise rippling through him… why hadn't he noticed before? It was fairly obvious, but he'd have to talk to her later…

The service was beautiful, the inscription on the tomb stone a poem written by Raven. When the priest left them, they just stood for a while. The others that had come; some of his police friends and Roy's parents, left slowly until it was just the four of them. They watched Kori and waited for her to say she was ready to go, but it seemed she was quite content to simply stand and stare ashen faced at the tomb stone. Finally, she turned and nodded, a slow and weary nod and they all walked back to the SUV, Gar talking to Raven in hushed tones.

Kori trudged slowly behind the others, Richard glancing back now and then. Unfortunately, this meant it was Richard who saw the young woman walk up to Roy's grave and lay flowers by the stone, balancing a small child in her other arm. He fell behind so he was walking by Kori, still sending glances back at the woman. "Kori… who's that?" he asked quietly. Kori turned and tilted her head to the side.

"I-I don't know. Perhaps a friend… I saw her once, maybe, leaving Roy's house. At least- at least I think I saw her. R-Roy said she was a friend," she mumbled. Richard stared at the woman carefully, and found himself thinking quite differently. He knew all too well about cheating… Raven and Gar had turned now, and were equally surprised to see the lady and her child at the grave, and quickly followed Richard back over to her. Kori trailed after them, not particularly eager to talk with anyone at the moment.

"Hello?" Richard said. The woman looked up, quickly trying to wipe away her running mascara.

"Hi…" she said, sniffing. Short, curly blonde hair ruffled about her heart-shaped face, big brown eyes looking at Richard in bafflement. "D-do I know you or something?" she asked, obviously intent on having some privacy with Roy's grave.

"Not exactly… but, you were one of Roy's _friends_ right?" he said, somewhat stiffly. He had a feeling Kori wasn't going to enjoy hearing what the woman said next. Raven, on the other hand, was looking suspiciously at the child in his arms. A sweet heart-shaped face and big eyes like his mother, but a little mess of red-orange hair peeked out from under his baby cap.

"I'm Jenna Nichols… would've been Jenna H-Harper. I was his fiancé…" she whispered, holding up her left hand, the diamond on her finger glittering.

"And the child?" Raven asked coldly. Jenna didn't seem to notice Raven's tone but rather looked down at her baby lovingly, her eyes still glittering with tears.

"Roy's. His name is Roy Jr. actually," she smiled softly. Richard's eyes narrowed, yet again hidden under his dark sunglasses.

"Oh, well… we just wanted to offer out condolences in this time for you… from Mr. Wayne," Richard coughed, and offered an 'apologetic' nod before quickly ushering Kori and Raven away, Gar walking stiffly next to them.

"Wait, you're Richard Grayson… right?" Jenna called. Richard turned to look at her and hesitantly nodded, quickly returning to the task of getting Kori back into the car before she broke down. "Nice to meet you, then," Jenna yelled after them. She bit her lip and shrugged softly. "I'm sorry Roy…" she said quietly, turning back to the grave and continuing her one-sided conversation with her deceased fiancé.

Once in the car, Richard looked at Kori, trying to see what she was doing. But Kori was simply staring straight ahead, her eyes incredibly wide and perilously shiny. Raven, on the other hand, was having no problem converting grief into rage and was spouting off curses and oaths left and right, some more creative than others. Kori was something of a little sister to Raven, and she'd be damned if she saw the red-head get her heart shredded any more.

"Kori… please, are you ok?" Richard asked quietly. Kori nodded blankly and Richard sighed. She wanted to be alone, it seemed. So now he looked up at Raven, cutting into her verbal abusive of Roy and all his relatives. "So, Rae… when are you due? And why didn't you tell us?" Richard asked. Raven stopped abruptly, her cheeks reddening very slightly. Kori looked up, her interest briefly captivated.

"I was going to tell you some time after the funeral. It didn't seem appropriate. But, I'm due in five months… I'm not _that_ obvious yet, am I?" she asked. Richard shook his head, and he actually smiled.

"Congrats," he said. Raven nodded.

"Thanks," she said. "Um, I think it might be best we skip the lunch and just take Kori home…" she added quietly, glancing back at the emerald-eyed girl. Kori seemed to have lost interest or not heard the whole of it because she was simply staring at the back of the seat in front of her again. They fell into a somewhat awkward silence until they were rounding the driveway of Wayne manor. Kori spoke suddenly.

"Boy or girl?" she asked. Raven was startled but recovered quickly.

"Uh, not sure… but I have a feeling it's a boy," she stuttered. Kori nodded.

"What will you name him?" she asked. Raven paused.

"It depends… but if it is a boy, we're naming him Griffin. If it's a girl, we're naming her Jade," she said. Kori nodded.

"Congratulations," the young artist said as they pulled up in front of the manor.

"Thanks," Raven said again. Kori attempted a smile and somewhat succeeded as she got out of the car. Richard sent the couple up front an apologetic glance as he left and they nodded in understanding before driving off.

"Kori…" Richard said, turning to find she'd sunk down onto the steps and her body was shaking with sobs.

"Oh Richard, how could he do this to me? I-I thought he'd always be be-beside me and now he's… he's gone and he even ha-ad a b-baby with some woman I-I don't even… know…" Kori cried. Richard kneeled down beside her and took her up into his arms where she hung limp. "There's no one left, Richard… to-to stay with me… why'd he have to…" she couldn't finish and continued to weep in despair.

Richard brought her face up to look at him, his sunglasses off so azure met emerald. "I'm here… and I'm staying at your side. I promise that…" he sucked in a deep breath… now here it came, the one thing he couldn't stand and swore he had an allergy to… "I will _never_ leave you," commitment.

"You're lying," she said, suddenly very blunt. Richard didn't respond but rather planted a gentle kiss to her lips. When he parted, her eyes were still closed. "But I… I'll just pray I'm wrong…" she breathed. Richard kissed her again and helped her to her feet.

"Everyone needs a second chance…" he said. Kori shivered and nodded and wrapped her arms around him.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, here's your daily update from Princess... lol. Ok, I'm adding a new section under my A/Ns called Titan's News and that'll be where I'll post any of my questions and replies to your questions about the titans and what not... oh, and for people kind enough to answer my questions I offer Robin Brownies XD... if you don't know what I'm talking about go read Cherry Blossoms in Winter... so yeah... Oh, and if you didn't get it, Kori's very aware of Richard's past with girls so just because they're "togeather" don't mean she fully trusts him... and she has good reason not to... ((pokes previous sentences... hmm, I'd call that a hint...)) Oh, and I'm not going to camp _yet_ I've got a few weeks before then to finish this story... unless you all _want_ me to leave... lol. Reviews are appreciated and, although I know it's silly, it'd be fun to see if I could reach 200 on this story. I've already hit 157 which is anew record for myself... yay!

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

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**Titan's News:**_ First, a Stranded update. Yes, the screen shots are on and you can download it on the r/s shrine for all you unfortunate people like me stuck on the USA's schedule. However, if you wanna be good and wait for the premeire, it's on Jume 11 at 8:00 pm. Prophecy will be airing on June 4 at 8:00 pm. So, it's been confirmed that Titans Movie is well underway, but does anyone know when it'll hit Blockbuster? Of course this is one movie I most deffinately will be buying! Oh, and in slightly unrelated Titans News... I shall be trying to get up a one shot this afternoon called Ending With Honor... so keep an eye out for that too. Anymore Questions? Any more Answers? Oh, and I know a respectable amount about the plots and such in the old comics if anyone is interested... although I must diclaim any of the information about Robin's past before he became a titan that I've used in stories because that was all just my hypothesizing and imagining._

Chapter 11'sTitans "Fun" Fact:

In the old comic series, Koriand'r obtained the ability to speak english via kissing Richard Grayson. When later asked about it, she said she chose to kiss Robin because he wasn't afraid to show his legs. This was, of course, during the time Robin sported a more speedo-style uniform...

((If anyone would like to place a fact for me to post in your review, please feel free! They are much appreciated...))


	12. I Guess So

Life's Canvas

Chapter 12: I Guess So

_Two Weeks since the funeral of Roy Harper_

Kori stared bleakly out the window, her hair flowing loose down her shoulders. She could hear Richard talking quietly on the phone in the room next door, and the drone of Alfred's vacuum cleaner buzzed in her ears. Bruce Wayne would be home this evening. Joy. Richard had hardly seemed excited about the debonair billionaire learning that his relationship with Kori had passed the professional level… to a slightly serious degree.

Richard hefted a sigh and rubbed his temples as Raven Logan's voice floated through the receiver.

"I'm actually proud of you, Dick," she purred, obviously readying herself for some entertaining provoking of the young man.

"Why…?" Richard asked testily. He was familiar with Raven's games.

"You haven't taken a girl to bed since you met Kori. Is she whipping you into shape or something?" Raven asked, amusement lacing her usually stoic voice. Richard was quiet for a moment.

"Damn… you're right. You don't think… I'm loosing my touch or something, do you?" he asked, a tone of imploring urgency in his voice. Raven let out a peel of mocking laughter, but it was hardly malicious.

"No. I highly doubt that. Kori's just wary and you, Dick Grayson, are feeling the side effects of making a commitment to someone for the first time in your life," she countered smartly.

"Ok, a: Don't say that disgusting word around me, and b: you said that like I was trying to get Kori to… well, you know…" he trailed off awkwardly. That was a first. He'd never been shy about his interests.

"Uh, yeah. Well, first of all… get used to the word, Richard. It's going to come up with her sooner or later. She's not looking for a fling with you," Raven replied.

"I-I know… and I'm not sure that's a good thing," Richard mumbled.

"It IS a good thing. You need a solid relationship now. But anyhow, finishing what I was going to say, I'm glad that you're lightening up on your disgusting womanizing habits. They're absolutely terrible," Raven snapped. Richard growled.

"Shut up," he said, miffed.

"Alright. Well, good luck with Bruce. Bye!" Raven hung up, and did so with enthusiasm. Richard groaned and flung the phone dejectedly to the floor. Kori hadn't cried much since the funeral, but she was still suffering. That had made these last two weeks much harder. It was difficult enough for a man like Richard to grasp he was actually accountable to someone without the added irritation caused by her seeming ungratefulness. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn't help but wonder if Kori was still doting on Roy's memory. It was unlikely because she'd become harshly cold towards any thoughts of when she'd dated the man… during much time he must have been engaged… and a father at that.

Still, he wished that either she would stop her sorrows or he could at least sympathize with her loss. He hadn't known Roy much and the brief moments he had had with him were less than fond recollections. Richard pulled himself off of his bed and trudged next door, moving to stand behind Kori and wrap his arms about her. Kori leaned back against him

"Hello Richard," she whispered, her gaze far off.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"The gallery… talking with Mr. Wayne tonight," she shrugged and Richard planted a light kiss to the side of her head. Kori had insisted upon completing the gallery once she'd cleared her head of the funeral and had made several trips alone… preferring not to have Richard with her. He was fairly sure why, and it bothered him to an extent. She felt guilty, despite what Roy had been doing behind her back he had treated her kindly and she felt as if she was betraying him by waltzing off with Richard.

"You don't have to talk to him tonight, Kori. I can talk to him about the break in and stuff on a business type level. You won't have to get involved with it," he assured her. Kori gave a frustrated sigh.

"What about us?" she asked quietly. Richard shifted.

"You mean… about our relationship?" he asked. Kori nodded. Richard tightened his grip about her. "Well… first you have to tell me what we are in the first place," he murmured. He'd promised to stand by her side and he'd kissed her and two weeks later both were unsure of where they stood. Kori didn't trust him. Not with his reputation with women. This impression had been considerably worsened when she had found that Roy, whom she _had_ trusted, had a fiancé and a son. But that didn't take away with the fact she'd fallen in love with Richard…

Richard, on the other hand, was completely averted to relationships that made their way out of the physical realm and yet his interactions with Kori were almost purely emotional, both reaching out to the other for healing… and the stray kiss or embrace here and there. Oh, and there was that small irritating voice in the back of his mind laughing and telling him he'd fallen in love. ((Strangely enough, this voice was rather reminiscent of Raven Logan))

"I can't say exactly… what I do know is we are more than co-workers, and more than friends. But exactly what more… I-I really don't know yet," she said softly. "I believe our relationship is a rather difficultly worded one…" she finished. Richard scooped her up in his arms and then set her back on the floor so that she stood facing him.

"You're right… so then tell me what you want me to tell Bruce," Richard shrugged. Kori looked down at the floor, frowning.

"Perhaps we tell him nothing until we ourselves know? But of course… I won't be hiding my feelings. Whatever they are," she replied. Richard nodded and brought her face up so he could press a light kiss to her lips. He nearly pulled away, but Kori brought her hands up around his neck. He gently ran his hands through her long hair, toying with the silken strands and savoring the taste of her lips. Kori finally allowed him free, but he parted reluctantly, his blue eyes suddenly filled with a sort of delighted confusion.

"Sure. And I'm guessing that's a start to figuring it out ourselves?" he chuckled suddenly. Kori flushed and nodded.

"I guess so,"

* * *

Author's Note: I'm thoroughly depressed with this chapter. It was meant to lighten up on the last couple chapters... I mean Roy died and they go to a funeral and there's confessions... but this came out short and not really that much lighter in mood, but not serious enough for me to find it entertaining either. Oh, and I'm sorry I updated so late in the evening. Prehaps I''ll have a more satisfactory chapter for you tomorrow. Please forgive me... reviews are still greatly appreciated.

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

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_**Titans News:** Well, today's only news is in response to two questions I recieved. One, the Titan's Movie will deffinatly be animated. Or at least, that's what I've been told everywhere. Perhaps someday in the future there will be a Teen Titans movie done with live actors... but personally, I kind of hope not. The characters are endearing in their animated forms and give the opportunities of varied imaginigs of what they would look like as real people and that's often nice in my point of view, especially from a writer's view. I also recieved a question asking what it's about... and to be quite honest, I'm not sure... other than I have faith it'll be rock awesome and something I MUST buy. lol. If anyone has any information as to the content of the movie, I'd appreciate it so I can put it up in my next Titans News. Oh, and a request to MyMonkeyIsOrange. Your friend that knows the voice actor to Cyborg... might you ask them to ask him to either verify or at least clue us in as to whether the R/S kiss is going to remain rumor or become reality? If you understood that and can get that answered... I will love you forever. Unless you tell me it will remain rumor forever at which point I will have to restrain myself from ripping out someone's innards... sorry. hehe. Well... that's all for this chappie!_

Chapter 12's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:

In the old comics, Raven was bald because she was resurrected by Brother Blood so many times she didn't have time to grow hair. ((And yes, in the comics, Raven was a pure soul resurrected by Brother Blood and made evil... or at least partially evil because you know... she became a titan and all... and I refuse to believe Raven is evil. From what I gather, Brother Blood resurrected her several times over the course of the comic series...))


	13. Wrapped in Silk

Life's Canvas

Chapter 13: Wrapped in Silk

Dinner proved to be rather easy. Kori had placed herself conveniently next to Richard, so as to separate herself from Bruce Wayne. It wasn't that she didn't like the man… he'd seemed very professional and had the same sort of charisma Richard did, but she didn't want any questions directed at her. She knew it was end up with her having to say something about her relationship with Roy or her part in finding "the body" as Roy's corpse was so eloquently referred to.

Richard had taken her hand under the table, squeezing it lightly to tell her she could leave. She had done so gracefully, thanking Bruce for the chance to dine with him and quickly retiring to her room. By the time she'd reached the top of the stairs, she could hear Richard already begin to explain things quietly, finally revealing to Bruce what connections there were and what was going on with Kori's past.

She had waited patiently for him in her room, suddenly anxious to find whether Bruce thought she was too much of a burden. Nearly three hours later, Richard had come up to her, knocking lightly on her door. She'd only opened the door a smidge, and peeked through. Richard had smiled and laid a very quick kiss to her forehead, letting her know things had gone alright and Bruce had been understanding, before she disappeared back into her room.

The next day, she went down to breakfast to find that Bruce had already left to have a brief discussion with the police on heavier security matters and then would be off to return to his business meeting on the east coast.

Richard stood from the breakfast table. "So Kori, what do you want to do? It's Saturday… you should take a break from the gallery and… maybe we can go do something to take your mind off of everything, you know?" he suggested. Kori smiled appreciatively, standing and going over to his side where she wrapped him in a quick hug.

"Sounds wonderful. Perhaps the mall? I have yet to get a dress and the party is on Wednesday…" she tilted her head to the side.

"Fine with me. We can take my bike if you want," he shrugged but an amused light shimmered in his cobalt eyes. Kori nodded rapturously. Another ride on Richard's motorcycle would be plenty enough to push all thoughts of the recent events out of her mind. Richard grinned and took her hand, tugging her outside. He handed her his helmet, but she didn't take it.

"You should wear it…" she murmured. Richard shook his head.

"Seriously, Kori, I'd feel a hell of a lot better if you wore it," he countered. Kori flushed but accepted the helmet, staring warily up at Richard's unruly hair. It was dangerous for him to ride without a helmet… he really needed to be a bit more conscious of his safety. Kori jammed it onto her head and they got on the bike, peeling from the drive moments later.

The ride to the mall was just as exhilarating as the first time she'd ridden the bike, the smooth roar of the engine vibrating her senses, her head pressed against Richard's back and taking in the Gotham sights behind the visor of the helmet. The ride was a good deal longer, which Kori thoroughly enjoyed, and she couldn't help but laugh with delight as they soared into the parking lot. She bounced off of the motorcycle, tugging the helmet from her head and shaking her auburn locks free. She combed through them swiftly with her fingers. Richard lifted an eyebrow, watching the ritual with interest.

Kori noted his stare and grinned bounding up to him and planting a solid kiss to his lips. She went to draw away, but this time it was Richard who pulled her back in, just long enough to revel in her taste and commit it to memory… not that he wasn't considering her refreshing said memory in the near future. "Mmm…" Richard declared as he let her free. Kori rolled her luminous eyes and slapped him lightly on the arm. Richard shrugged and offered her his arm escort style.

She took it and he led her into the mall. "So, where shall we go first?" Kori inquired. Richard shrugged.

"I'm not a frequent dress shopper… you tell me," he grimaced.

"Goodness… fine. We'll go there first, Touchy," she pointed in the direction of a boutique with several cocktail dresses in their windows. Richard laughed softly and nodded.

"Ok," he agreed. The artist was a little ball of fire, that was for sure… They walked into the boutique and Richard immediately felt lost. He was practically engulfed by the massive amount of women's clothing that greeted his eyes. "How do you breathe in here?" he asked, looking over at Kori who had let go of his arm.

"Oh, don't whine Richard… you were the one who offered to take me to the mall in the first place… albeit it was a while ago that you proposed the offer, but I'm taking this as a rain check," she countered. Richard shrugged and let his eyes wander, only to lock gazes with a pair of beautiful grey eyes. He hardly heard Kori tell him she was going to the dressing room as the woman made her way towards him. A sales associate at the boutique, obviously, but one whom was dangerously attractive.

She approached him, brushing back a few strands of highlighted brown hair. The coppery strands fluttered back and she smiled a smile hardly appropriate for a saleswoman. "Mr. Grayson? _The_ Richard Grayson? What an honor to have you in our boutique. Can I help you with anything?" she asked, staring at him with hungry gaze.

Richard swallowed, about to say exactly what she could help him with when he remembered Kori, those sweet jade eyes staring up at him from her seat on the steps and begging him to tell her what she was going to do. "Um, not really. I'm just waiting for her to come out," he jerked a finger in the way of Kori's dressing room. The girl looked at him, somewhat startled before nodded queerly and moving away.

"Oh, a-alright then. Just… tell me or one of the others if you or your uh, lady-friend need any help," she stuttered. Richard nodded, detached. He turned just as Kori stepped from the dressing room, clutching a dress in her hands.

"Richard, it seems we've made a lucky pick. I think this dress will be absolutely perfect… now we can go someplace you'd like instead of wandering around in clothing stores," she giggled and held up the dress. It was simple; a pale champagne colored silk that would fall just below her knees. The top was done in a corset style, laced with gold-toned ribbon. Richard nodded. He could only imagine how magnificent it must look on her… considering she'd been absolutely gorgeous in a pair of paint-speckled jeans and an old tunic. "Richard? Are you ok?" she asked softly. He nodded blankly, choosing to take her into his arms and lay a hard kiss to her lips. She was thoroughly surprised but made no effort to stop him.

He let go of her abruptly, his eyes filled with something she couldn't quite place… almost as if he'd become angry… but not quite. At the counter, the grey-eyed beauty was working the register. Kori watched as Richard locked gazes with her, a strange defiance in his eyes. She returned it with a cold and aloof glare. They quickly left the boutique, Richard profoundly surprised that Kori's choice had been the cheapest dress in the store and had also been on the discount rack. She shrugged and smiled, saying she hadn't wanted to have him pay much.

He'd been about to protest but she'd squeezed his hand and her eyes had told him he couldn't change her mind. As they walked down the center path of the mall, Kori sighed.

"Thank you," she said. She knew now what had gone on in the boutique whilst she'd been changing.

"For the dress? Not a problem, Kori." He grinned. Kori shook her head.

"I know what you did… or basically what you did, in the store back there. With the saleswoman," she said softly. "And… thank you," she looked over at him. Richard was quiet for a while.

"It was… right, that's all," he muttered. Kori shook her head.

"You don't like being bound… I honestly didn't expect you to stop your ways with other women, I mean… we never officially said we were a couple or had any commitment to one another. So I kind of expected you would… you know… just do as you pleased. I didn't totally—trust you," she sighed. Richard looked down. It was true. And he'd thought about it too. And he definitely was uncomfortable with his current "bound", as she put it, state. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't have done anything to hurt Kori.

"But… you wouldn't have ever gone with another man. Even without us verbally saying it… you treat our relationship as, well, what it is. I mean, 'cause that's what it is in reality," he said, stopping to face her. Kori bit her lip, and a slow smile worked its way onto her face.

"I should hope it is…" she chuckled and wrapped him in a hug.

* * *

Author's Note: Ok, I feel a bit better about this chapter, heh. I hope you all will accept it as repayment for last night's absolutely horrid update. I'm glad some of you are finding the Titans News useful. According to my stats, we're nearing the 200 mark for reviews... although I think it displays it differently on the story itself... if that makes any sense. So I don't know how many reviews there actually are, but I'm going to go by what my stats say... so if you could please drop off a review I would greatly appreciate it, I truly love you all for humoring this silly goal of mine. Anyhow, a new chapter for you will be up tomorrow, I think.

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

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_**Titans News:** Well, news of today is fairly basic... in reply to a question, I can't say whether stranded is good or not from personal experience, but from the various reviews I've read on it and judging from the screen shots... I'm guessing it'll be one of my all-time fave episodes. ((I still have to wait to see it... why must I be bound to the US premiere schedule?)) I've heard the sub-plots are wonderfully done and very funny and that we get to see one of those rare times when Raven finally lets herself relax a bit. If you're still wondering, go do a web search for the episode, you'll find pleanty of chat threads and reviews and descriptions... as well as some spoilers ;) Unfortunately, my e-mail is being stupid and I can't see my reviews to answer any of the other questions but I promise to get them in the next chapter. ciao for now!_

Chapter 13's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:

Do you remember Larry the Titan from the episode "Fractured"? Well, you'll probably remember he had one odd, long name in the begining... before BB cut in and named him Larry. Either way, if you take that monstrosity of a name and spell it backwards... tell me what you get! For those of you who don't know what Larry's full name was, it's Kcid Nosyarg.

Oh, BTW... before ou flip those names backwards, Kcid and Nosyarg are two seperate words. You flip Kcid and you get the first name and then you flip Nosyarg and you get the last name. You might have already known this... but hey, at least it gives a clue to _which_ Robin is leading the titans. Oh... and there was the whole Nightwing thing in "How Long is Forever"... but hey, this clue's more fun! XD


	14. Author's Note please read, sorry

**Author's Note**: Oh, I'm sorry that the Fun Fact for the last chapter was stupid… um… I just found it entertaining and all. So, uh yeah. Sorry. Will have a new chapter up tomorrow and hopefully a better fact. Or, I think it's a better fact… so… yeah. Again, sorry if the Fun Fact irritated you or whatever…

Oh, and if it didn't bother you... than disregard this whole thing and blame it on my paranoia...lol. I hate making people mad... or irritated... hehe. Sorry.


	15. An Afinity to Red

Life's Canvas

Chapter 14: An Affinity to Red

After the boutique incident, Richard had pointedly taken Kori's hand and proved severely reluctant to let it go at any time. From the look on his face, he hadn't liked either of the choices he'd been given back there. God knows he didn't want to hurt Kori, but he was equally at odds with the concept of a steady relationship. And a relationship with a girl like Kori, at that. Their views on exactly _what_ constituted a relationship were incredibly different, to make matters harder, and it appeared they would be following Kori's logic.

Kori looked up at him from her seat in the food court as he came over with their orders from China Express. "Richard, if you don't want to… I mean, I understand you don't usually…" she grimaced at her inability to speak.

"No. I… don't want to leave you. Ever." He said quickly, though she could see the discomfort plain on his face. It was probably the worst possible moment for the blue-eyed vixen, Barbara Gordon, to show up. Babs sauntered up, one eye-brow quirked as she flipped her wavy red hair back over her shoulders.

"Richard? What a surprise!" she chuckled leaning her weight on their table. Richard swallowed his mouthful of orange chicken slowly, and looked up. He was aware of Kori's curious gaze flickering between the two.

"Uh, hi… Babs…" he coughed.

"I haven't seen you on our usual morning runs recently… what's up?" she murmured, baby blues searching his face with interest. Richard nodded and glanced over at Kori, who met his gaze with a slight shrug. He could see her mind working, though. Undoubtedly remembering the conversation they'd shared the first time they'd eaten dinner together. The one involving the party. Babs had been his original choice as a date.

"I've busy lately. So I've been using Bruce's Gym in the evenings for my work out instead," Richard replied carefully, suddenly feeling an overwhelming guilt for what had been done between Babs and him but days before Kori's arrival. Kori went back to eating her lunch, figuring she would be fairly exempt from the conversation. And that was fine, seeing as she had no particular desire to talk with Babs. Either way, she remained intent on hearing what went on in the talk… whether her eyes were actually on them or her half-consumed egg roll.

"Mhm… Sure, ok. So, who's the lovely lady over here?" Babs inquired, her gaze shifting to Kori and studying the young artist with practiced glance. Richard blinked.

"Kori Anders… she's an artist I've employed for the moment," Richard's words fell subconsciously from his mouth, not much of a thought given to them. But the moment he heard them, the moment he saw Kori hear them… he became painfully aware it had been a mistake. She definitely wasn't just a random artist… she was Kori. At this point, _his_ Kori. He peered at her expression, guiltily catching her gaze, but she only offered a soft smile in return. The kind that are far worse from any death glare or heart-wrenching, tear-filled gaze. It was just a soft smile that told me his words had been expected and that she had never truly trusted his kisses.

Kori allowed her hold on Richard's stare to linger for a moment before the brief exchange was lost and she offered Babs a well-faked grin. "A pleasure to meet you… Babs?" she extended a slender hand and Babs quickly took it and shook it politely.

"Same to you, and yeah… Babs will do fine," she said. Kori nodded.

"Babs, then. As I said; a pleasure," she returned her attention to her finished meal and crumpled up her napkin, tossing it blankly onto the tray with her empty dish. "Richard, are you through eating?" she asked. Richard nodded and Kori took his plate, neatly stacking it atop her own and taking the finished drinks as well. She quickly excused herself and went to throw them away. Richard sighed.

"So… if she's just a co-worker, there's no competition, right?" Babs asked with a light laugh. Richard stiffened and sucked in a breath.

"Actually…" Richard was cut off, as Barbara rather inconveniently pressed her lips against his own. She lingered, and then pulled back slowly with a wink.

"See you later," the girl practically purred as she slipped away from the table and disappeared into the crowd milling through the mall. Richard stared at the table. He should've enjoyed that. A lot. In fact, he usually would have enjoyed that and been much more responsive. But the blunt truth was, this time had been different. He hadn't enjoyed it. All it did was make him feel slightly nauseated with nagging guilt. And as he looked up to meet Kori's surprised stare… he knew exactly why.

Kori came back over tentatively, doing a commendable job at keeping her composure. Seriously, what had she expected? It wasn't like Richard was blind to the other members of the female world. It wasn't as if she had really, truly expected anything from _Richard Grayson_. Still, it stung. "Kori, please," he started, but she shook her head with a feigned smile considerably less believable than the one she'd offered to Babs.

"It's fine, really. I didn't honestly think you'd… limit yourself to me, I mean…" she trailed off. Richard stood quickly and grabbed her shoulders as if he thought she might disappear in a puff of smoke if he didn't tell explain now.

"No, Kori, it's not fine. I hurt you, didn't I…" he murmured.

"Like I said, I didn't truly expect anything. I-I mean, I'm just some artist you employed… right?" she shrugged and attempted another grin but her sensitive nature was winning out. What was it with men and breaking her heart like this!

"Kori, listen to me. I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I-I don't know, Kori. I'm not used to doing this sort of thing. The whole… emotional thing is-is kind of beyond me. But it doesn't take away from how I feel about you. Whether I can really understand it or not," he said, searching her face. He could feel something in the pit of his stomach; either the orange chicken seriously hadn't set right or he was scared to death of loosing Kori when he just barely had her. He was guessing it was the latter.

"Then why'd you kiss her?" Kori asked quietly… bluntly. Richard hesitated and closed his eyes.

"I didn't. I tried to explain what my relationship with you really was, but she didn't even let me get out three words. In fact she only let me get out one… and then she just-just… kissed… me," Richard muttered, knowing exactly how stupid that must sound. But it was the truth. Kori was staring at him, wanting to believe so very much and feeling incredibly skeptical at the same time.

"Honestly?" she asked finally, her expression daring him to lie to her. Richard sighed and nodded, wishing she had more reason to trust him.

"Honestly. And even if I'd been the one kissing her it _still _wouldn't change how I feel," he said. "_Babs_ is the one that's just a co-worker." He finished.

"But… how _do_ you feel, Richard?" she asked with a slight shake of her head. Richard met her gaze, his eyes dark as he pulled her into a kiss, completely overwhelming her with every ounce of emotion he felt. It was true, every last bit of it. He pulled back and Kori swallowed, breathless.

"I love you, Kori Anders," he stated quietly, his voice confident enough that it surprised not only Kori but himself as well. Kori locked gazes with him, drowning him in her endless emerald eyes.

"I… love you too," she agreed finally, kissing him lightly again. Then, she smiled, her seriousness lost. "So… if she's just a co-worker, there's no competition, right?" she asked. Richard gave an ironic chuckle.

"None. None at all,"

* * *

Author's Note: Ahahaha... yeah... let's just all forget about the Author's Note and the Fun Fact and all that crap from yesterday. First of all, it was messed up ((though I got the concept right)) and second of all, I was having a majorly bad day and was feeling way too overly sensitive and stuff. Forgive me for my dorkiness, kay? Um, anyways... I hoped you like the chappie today, luckily my e-mail alerts are working and I can make Titans News a bit more helpful. I'd appreciate any suggestions for fun facts seeing as I only have a limited supply of info for you all, and I'd kind of like to continue them. Sorry the update was a little late today, they might start to end up being posted around this time from now on because I tend to be busy in the mornings... so, yeah. Well, love you all and thank you so much for your reviews. It looks like wehave hit the big 200 . Fun times... fun times... 

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

P.S- Why do I feel like going and crushing Babs into dust now? I mean... she got them to confess and all, but... she made me mad... and I'm the flipping author! Although... she made me mad in the comics too. So-so yeah...

* * *

_**Titans News:** News for today... well, first of all I guess the movie is supposed to air between late this summer and fall? That's what I've been told but if you know otherwise, please tell me and I'll correct it in the next chapter. Oh, and I'm hoping to go snoop around for some more info on the Rob/Star kiss and any other fluffy rumors... Social Butterfli, that's for you as it'd been horrid if you jumped out of a window... I'd miss your fics terribly o.O ((lol)) Oh, if anybody has some more info for me to put in Titans News then it'd been greatly appreciated. Any more questions? Ask away, I'll do my best to get them answered. Not much to say about stranded other than the screen shots have me falling out of my seat constantly and I'm laughing like a crazed idiot. I dunno... it's just great to know the Rob/Star shippers have pretty much won. Hehe... Oh, and in response to the question, you can find screen shots to Stranded on but I'm sure you can find them elsewhere as well._

Chapter 14's "Fun Fact":

Erm... I found this disturbing as I'm not an actual reader of the old comics, but evidently Raven losther chakra at one point andit ended up in Brother Blood's blood stream. Then BB went and got it via the way hewent into Cyborg. ((Though I'm not sure he was an amoeba... coud've been some other random thing...)) I know itdidn't happen that way, because biologically it doesn't make _total_ sense but my immediate thought was "What! Brother Blood ate Raven's chakra!" now there's an odd visual... --'


	16. Kori's Other Side

Life's Canvas

Chapter 15: Kori's Other Side

Kori and Richard returned Wayne Manor, Richard practically vaulting off the bike so as turn around and scoop Kori up off of it and hold her bridal style before she could make much protest. Kori laughed as he set her back on the ground and he led her inside just in time to hear the phone begin to ring. "I got it, Alfred!" Richard barked, darting into the kitchen and snatching up one of the various phones.

"Hello?" came the inquiring voice from the other end. It was a man's voice, loud and booming even through the receiver, but it had kindly warmth about it.

Richard grinned as Kori walked in after him, hands clasped in front of her. She caught his attention and briefly pantomimed she was going to go work on a painting upstairs. He nodded and returned to the conversation at hand as Kori scurried from the kitchen. If the painting she was working on now ended up in the gallery it would be her third piece. She'd already put up Spring Robin and an intricately painted pot she'd made.

"Victor, ma man, what's up?" Dick chuckled. On the other end Victor joined in the friendly laughter.

"Nothing much, nothing much. But I was thinking, rather than wait to see you at the party on Wednesday, why don't you come meet me and Karen at the night club that just opened down town… it's called Starfire. I heard it's great out there," Victor proposed. Richard lifted a brow.

"You're coming to the party?" he asked. Victor snorted.

"Yeah. Karen's previous boss was one of Mr. Wilson's old buddies. That's how she met the guy, at one of the meetings she went to… Well, either way, Slade Wilson remembered her and invited her to come. Naturally, I'm her date," Victor laughed again.

"Um, yeah. She's your wife, man. But either way, night club sounds cool. I'll be bringing someone with me, though," Richard smirked. On the other end of the line, Victor met his wife's curious stare with a lifted eye-brow.

"Bringing someone with you? A little lady, perhaps?" he asked. Richard rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Her name's Kori Anders," Richard replied evenly. Victor seemed to be thinking.

"Tell her to wear something good, she can enter the Miss Starfire competition they're having. It's just; you know… one those little things that have a cash prize. It's only 200 bucks tonight, but Karen thought it'd be fun. All the guys will be voting on which of the girls has the best club wear. Your Kori might have fun," Victor suggested. Richard coughed. He didn't see Kori as the type of girl to have clothes for clubbing, but whatever.

"_My_ Kori? Never really had it put that way… but if it works for you. Anyways, I'll ask her if she wants to enter. It doesn't seem like her kind of thing, but who knows. So, I'll see you and Karen tonight… say, we meet out front at 9:30?" he inquired. Victor agreed and they hung up. Well, it was the truth. He really didn't know _what_ Kori's "thing" was; she kept surprising him every time.

Richard put the cordless phone back on its charger and went out into the foyer, taking the right staircase up and turning down the corridor to Kori's room. He knocked lightly and she quickly let him in, prancing back to where her things were laid out. The picture was painted in subtle blues and grays and indigos. Black outlines etched the sketchy image of a woman's face, peering over something not seen in the painting, her hands up and cupped over whatever it was. The small streaks of rusted tangerine and sunset reds indicated that the unseen item was probably a light source; a candle perhaps.

It was beautiful. The two were quiet for a while, the only sound was the clicking of Kori's paint brushes as they swept against the edges of each little glass paint jar. Richard finally spoke. "Hey, my friend Victor and his wife are going to a night club down town. It's called Starfire. He invited me and I thought you might like to come with me. I can call him back if you don't feel like it. Kori grinned.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" she mused, laughter in her eyes.

"I dunno, didn't seem like your kind of thing…" he shrugged.

"Oh, contrary to popular belief, I love clubs. So many people to meet… and dancing, it makes me feel like I could just fly," she winked. "I'd love to come with you,"

"Alright, you got something to wear?" he asked, expecting another quick trip to the mall was in order. Much to his surprise, she nodded.

"Of course," she said.

"They're having a kind of competition thing there. Victor thought you could enter with his wife, Karen. It's for the Miss Starfire title and 200 dollars. The guys are going to be voting on who, uh… looks… best…" he trailed off, quite aware that the contest winner was likely to be which ever woman was most scantily clad.

"Sure, I'll enter. Just for fun, you know?" She shrugged. Richard nodded. Ookk…

At nine o'clock, Richard was waiting in the foyer for Kori again. He wasn't wearing anything special; actually his clothes were quite relaxed. Even if it ended up being less than dress code, it wasn't like they were going to deny entrance to Richard Grayson. He heard Kori's door open and looked up to see her trotting down the steps. His eyes became very, very wide. She laughed softly as she caught his stare.

"Didn't expect it, did you?" she grinned. Richard shook his head. My, my… he certainly hadn't expected it at all…

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry! I tried updating but yesterday AND the day before but the servers were overloaded. _Maybe_ I can get you another chapter tonight to make up for it, ok? And perhaps two chapters tomorrow too. Again, sorry. PLEASe forgive me for the inconvienienc. I tried to post this chapter over 30 times… :( But I have A LOT of Titans News for ya, so that'll be good… I guess. Hoped you like the chapter even thought it was a bit short! Check back tonight to see if I possibly have up chaapter 16 for you too, ok? Again sorry the daily updates got messed up... I just couldn't log in for my life.

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

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_**Titans News:** Ok. First of all. The Rob/Star kiss is still only rumor but it is thought to air in 5th season. Unfortunately there are other rumors saying 5th season will be the Titans' last go-round. 5 Titans, 5 seasons. This of course means that in all likely-hood the story arch will be Starfire focused… so people are saying… and if there's a Starfire arc, there's imminent Robin/Star fluffiness on the way. So cheers to that. SocialButterfli, you said you heard about the "exploring of the Raven/Robin bond" in the THE END trilogy? Well, I found the whole article and it says simply that they're going to look at it from a new angle… like Robin possibly going into Raven's mind. That would probably mean eliciting help from Rae's mom in the process, so it would also show more of the Mother/Daughter thing too. Now, the way they do would obviously end up making Robin a hero, so don't be surprised if Raven goes all demonic all-power evil until Robin knocks her to her senses or something. _

_There are theories that Slade's child (which one… we shall never know) will appear as the Ravager in with season. That could prove to be either really interesting or really stupid if they plan on "replacing" Slade. Which they probably have to do considering Slade isn't really… Slade anymore… I know it's nothing definite, and it's highly unlikely but I thought you might find it interesting that there was a prospective list for the episode titles for season 5. (There will be 13 episodes) The fun part was, the finale of the season was the episodes entitled "The Wedding" part 1 and 2. My only qualm about this being true is the portrayal of the titans as teens in the show. But, hey, a girl can dream… right?_

_Now I leave you with a quote I found from the producer of the Titans. In an interview, she was asked: __Will Robin and Starfire ever get together? Her response was quite interesting… and I quote "__I wish! I've been wanting that since day one. We're not done, so you never know, but I'd love to see that." In other words, it'll probably happen eventually… I mean, the PRODUCER said that. So, yeah. Oh, and on the same page I got that quote from other people on staff were all acknowledging it IS rob/star. So… there ya go! Lots of news to go around!_

Chapter 15's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:

In the "New Teen Titans" comic series, Tim Drake… the current Robin… pulled off the top of Star's uniform.o.O everyone suspected it had been intentional, but Tim stoutly defended himself claiming it to simply be a "uniform malfunction"


	17. Miss Starfire

Life's Canvas

Chapter 16: Miss Starfire

Richard couldn't help himself. He really couldn't. She was just…wow. He stared blatantly at the woman before him, only vaguely similar to the Kori he knew that pranced bare-footed down the halls. Crimson hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back in loose waves that fell clear to her slim waist. Coiling tendrils twisted to frame her face. It appeared that Kori had discovered make up, and though she was amazing without it, he couldn't help but gape at the transformation. Her eyes were shadowed in smoky grays that highlighted her green eyes, and mascara and eyeliner accentuated the glittering gems further. A soft blush graced her sun-kissed skin and a light, shimmering gloss made her lips look absolutely delicious…

Richard tore his eyes from her lips and carefully absorbed her outfit. From her ears dangled a pair of silver, star earrings and her slender throat was laced with a black ribbon with a small green pendant dangling from the choker. A low-cut tank top was held up on her delicately formed shoulders with thin, lacy straps. It clearly showed her toned midriff and was made of violet cloth that hugged her form.

Her skirt was small, sleek, and black leather. She'd also donned black fishnets and a pair of thin heeled, knee-high, black leather boots. She offered a dainty little turn and. "So, what do you think?" she asked.

"Are you allowed to own that?" he asked warily. He'd never even guessed she had a wardrobe to match her often foxy attitude. Kori slapped his arm lightly.

"Artists can dress up too. Stop being so stereotypical, Richard," she laughed quietly. "Besides, a little competitive spirit never hurt a person," she winked. Richard grinned.

"Whatever you say, Miss Starfire. Let's get going," he said, taking her hand gently. Kori gave him a sly, side-long glance.

"Are we taking your bike?" she asked. Richard looked at her in surprise. She smirked. "Skirt's not gonna stop me… I can manage," she rolled her eyes. Richard shrugged and led her out to the bike. Kori _did_ manage, and she found the ride most entertaining, laughing so hard from pure bliss she would've toppled from the bike without her tight hold on Richard. Richard slid expertly into an empty parking space, the neon lights declaring their location at Starfire Night Club flared brilliantly in the dark Gotham sky.

He offered her a hand and she took it gracefully, hopping from the bike. Kori tugged his helmet off of her head, and raked her fingers through her hair to straighten it out again. He watched the ritual with interest, mentally noting he should get her a helmet of her own, seeing as he figured she'd be riding with him a lot more in the future. "Ready to go in?" she asked him, eager to meet Richard's friends. Richard smirked.

"Not quite," he murmured. She lifted a brow as he took her into his arms. Richard grinned and pressed his lips against hers, leaning her back against the bike. Neither particularly cared that people were looking at them oddly, and they would have been quite content to stay as they were until the end of time had not booming laughter shaken the air. A feminine voice quickly followed.

"Well, I guess we found them, Sparky! C'mon, Richard, let the woman free… you'll muss her make up," Karen stone mused. He heard Victor groan at use of the pet name. Richard leapt away from Kori as if she'd suddenly burst into flames, surprise and slight embarrassment flashing on his handsome features. "Don't worry, it's not the first time we've caught you… aww, Victor look at him acting all guilty, that's sweet. It's time you stopped rollin' your mama around in her grave and got yourself a good and wholesome relationship," Karen chortled, bumping out one hip and leaning her hand on it.

Richard rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, hoping Kori hadn't caught the implication… but none the less, as they all walked towards the club and Kori had finished shaking hands with Victor and Karen, she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Your mother…?" she asked quietly. Richard shook his head.

"We can talk about it later, let's just enjoy ourselves, shall we?" he muttered. She hesitated, but nodded. She'd wondered what kind of relationship Richard had had with his parents, and now she knew. Bruce Wayne had been the one to serve as Richard's parents, it seemed, and probably had done so for a longer time than she could imagine.

"Will you dance with me?" she asked as they entered the club. Richard returned his attentions back to her, having been previously occupied with staring down the bouncer who had (much to his distress) been looking at Kori in a more than friendly way. He smiled at her.

"Of course," he replied. Victor caught Richard's eye from where he was already dancing with Karen and wiggled his eyebrows. Richard rolled his eyes. "It looks like we have an hour before the Miss Starfire competition anyways," he said as he led her out onto the dance floor.

"Will you vote?" she asked. He laughed and nodded.

"Definitely," he replied. She gave him a curious glance. "And don't worry, my vote is solidly yours," Richard continued. At this, Kori blushed and smiled. Then they began to dance. Kori swayed to the pulsing beat, her body seemed to throw the rhythms back and forth. She threw her hands above her head and laughed, dancing closer to Richard. He came in closer as well, so they were dancing nearly nose to nose. She smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders.

He was good, she decided. The best dancer she'd ever encountered for sure. And he seemed to know it to an extent, moving with her in perfect sync and with a confidence she found delightful. He, on the other hand, was finding himself more and more surprised by the second. Kori hadn't struck him as the kind of girl to go out dancing, and yet here she was complimenting his every movement with expert ease… seeming to almost anticipate his next step.

Kori turned so her back was to him and he wrapped his arms about her waist and they danced in that fashion for the entirety of the next song. The DJ announced that they would be playing a few slow songs before the ladies who wished to enter the Miss Starfire contest had to go up on stage.

She turned to look at Richard and tilted her head to the side, a wordless inquiring of whether he would be willing to slow dance. He didn't need any prompting, having been in a semi-euphoric state since Kori had awed him in the foyer. In fact, he'd been perfectly happy the entire time, save a small interruption by Karen's off hand statement… Mrs. Stone hadn't meant it; she hadn't realized Kori was ignorant to Richard's deceased parents. Of course they were all ignorant to how terrible their deaths had been. None the less, Richard willing obliged and took Kori comfortably into his arms as the first song started.

Kori smiled and laid her head against his shoulder, and he squeezed her lightly. "I really do love you, Richard. I want you know that. And I want you to believe it too," she breathed. Richard kissed the top of her head gently.

"I do believe you, actually. And I need you to trust me when I say I love you too," he murmured quietly, a note of tenderness in his voice that surprised the both of them equally. They danced together without a word for the next three songs and then it was time for Kori to go up on stage with Karen and the others competing. Richard wished her good luck and then went to stand with Victor.

"I take it we know who you're voting for, _Sparky_," Richard chuckled dryly. Victor snorted indignantly.

"Stop being a dick, Dick," he snapped back. Richard lifted his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright. So, how are you, man?" he asked with a grin.

"Good, real good. But Karen's scaring the crap out of me. She keeps talking about kids and how babies are so cute and…" he shuddered. "I ain't ready for that, dawg," Victor said solemnly.

"Rae's pregnant. They found out it was a boy yesterday. Naming him Griffin," Richard commented. Victor looked surprised. He hadn't seen Raven and Gar for what seemed like ages.

"Wow, that's great. I still hate the fact I missed the wedding…" Victor shook his head regretfully. Richard shrugged.

"It's ok, I'm sure. Gar's taking good care of her," Richard said. Any further conversation was stopped as the various women competing paraded across the stage they had set up. Cat calls and whistles sounded all over the club, and there were even a few cheers when a tall blonde sauntered out. And then came Kori. She pranced out with a sweet little smile that looked disturbingly seductive in the current setting. Everything went quiet. She blushed, unsure if the silence was good or bad, and then everyone erupted, guys hollering less than appropriate things in her direction. At this, Kori's smile faltered slightly obviously displeased with the offers being shouted at her.

All the women stood in line and were instructed to strike a pose. Kori giggled and hammed it up, blowing a kiss to all the club-goers and winking in Richard's direction. Victor broke up into a fit of raucous laughter seeing a very faint tint of red rising to Richard's cheeks. Richard looked over and scowled, considering socking his friend in the jaw. His thought process was interrupted by a ripple of hands as they passed back slips of paper to right the lady of choice's name on.

The DJ stood up and went down the line, saying their names as he passed each. Soft pencil scratches whispered through the club along with a few cheers at different names. When all of the ballots were passed in, the DJ went to the side and counted them all up. It took a while, and people began to mill about again and talk, some heading back to the bar. The DJ cleared his throat and everyone turned to look and listen.

"Ok, y'all. You chose her to be our lil' club princess and the first ever Miss Starfire… congratulations Kori Anders! Come and get your cash, baby," he announced. Richard watched as she grinned and went to get her check, scowling as he watched the DJ say something to her and hand her another piece of paper… a phone number no doubt. He watched curiously as Kori said something back and the DJ nodded with interest.

He continued to eye them warily as the DJ's eyes lit up with an idea. He saw Kori shake her head furiously as if to stop him, but the DJ paid no heed. "Wow, y'all, who'd a guessed our Club Princess Starfire already has herself a prince! Why don't we all welcome up the one and only Richard Grayson! Come on up sir, your lady awaits!" he crowed. This sent Victor into another fit of hysterics and Richard saw Kori give him an apologetic look as the crowd gasped and then burst into a round of excited applause in the presence of the famous Gotham play boy. What, she thought he was embarrassed of her or something? He jogged confidently up onto the stage, much to Kori's surprise and took the phone number Kori was holding from her hand and smartly handed it back to the DJ. The guy coughed and tried to save a little of his dignity by hiding the paper quickly. Richard laughed and then, without warning, he decided to do something Kori would do and give in to impulse.

Richard turned suddenly and abruptly scooped Kori up bridal style. "Thanks for the welcome," he yelled. The crowd went wild again, many women screaming his name. They were fairly sure this Kori chick couldn't keep him long and were determined the louder they screamed the more likely Richard was to picking them as his next accessory… it wasn't like they were volunteering to be used or anything, right…?

Kori was looking up at him with utter shock. "Richard…?" she questioned, hardly sure this was the same composed man that had entered the club with her. Richard was laughing as he looked back down at her.

"What? Don't tell me you're embarrassed," he winked at her and she smiled, letting her own laughter escape as he leaned his head down and placed a fiery kiss to her lips. Again, the clubbers went into an uproar. And then Richard saw a flash, followed by several more flashes and clicks. He brought his head up and his eyes became very wide. Oops… he'd forgotten about the paparazzi…

* * *

Author's Note: Well... I guess Bruce will be finding out about Rich and Kori in tomorrow's paper... lol. OK, that's my second update today to make up for one of the days I missed. I'll try to get two up tomorrow as well so I'll be all up to date, ok? I hope you like it... and now you all know what Kori was wearing. It's quite different from what she usually wears and it was very shocking to poor Richard. I believe he's been a bit flustered by it... hm. He was a little more outgoing in this chapter too, but now he's got to pay for it in the tabloids. hehe.

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_**Titan's News: **I found out about the title name "The Wedding" on a Titans chat board which is why I'm guessing it's a rumor... plus the whole thing about Star and Rob being MINORS in the show... so, I hope that answers tha question. I'm not sure exactly which board I was on... If I find the URL, I'll post it. MyMonkeyIsOrange, thank you so much for your help, I'm eagerly awaiting what you find out. Not much news right now... I stuffed it all in the last chappie, lol. But I can assure you that the Titans Movie is NOT a rumor. The script is already done or something like that:) Some of you are wondering where I get the info I put in here. I get it from reviewers and from the many, many web searches I do. If I get it off of a search I only put it if I've found the same info in several different places so it's at least fairly possible it might happen/be true. Any more questions? I'm your girl!_

Chapter 16's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:

Richard Grayson is famous for splitting from Batman and becoming an independant hero both as Robin, leader of the Titans, as well as defender of BloodHaven and of course as Nightwing. I thought it was interesting to find that split was caused when Richard was shot in the shoulder while fighting along side Batman. The Dark Knight refused to let Robin return as his side-kick, likely fearing for his ward's life. So Grayson split, angered by his mentor's decision. Now I wonder, Robin... will you show us the scar?


	18. It's An Unstoppable Attraction

Life's Canvas

Chapter 17: It's An Unstoppable Attraction

Kori gently massaged Richard's shoulders and he sighed comfortably against her touch. "Mmm…" he declared quietly. Kori smiled. She stopped and moved around the side of the couch, climbing onto it and settling into Richard's arms. He eyed her carefully, and she met his beautiful azure gaze with an even stare.

"Was it really that bad?" she asked, a sympathetic smile on her face. He closed his eyes and nodded, his expression becoming abruptly solemn. As they had thought, pictures from last night's rendezvous had made it all over the Gotham tabloids and onto the internet. Bruce had received a forward in his e-mail that had contained Kori and Richard's picture and a few suggestions as to their relationship that were fitfully gutter-dwelling.

"Pretty bad. Bruce says I'm mixing work with play," he grimaced at the connotations such a statement elicited.

"Oh. But…" she dropped off. Technically she was still employed by Richard, whether she had decided to work on the gallery in her own free time. Richard himself had visited separately from her to make sure all was well, and the gallery was actually coming out beautifully. Richard toyed with the ends of a few strands of her hair.

"And he doesn't believe me when I say I'm serious about you, either," he mumbled. "But… I don't blame him for that much," Kori sighed and laid her head on his chest.

"It's the past, Richard. People can change, I think," she replied. Richard frowned.

"You think?" he prodded. Kori bit her lip.

"I must admit your past… record has made me a bit unsure of what to expect. I enter things for the long run," she propped herself up so she could meet his stare, her jade eyes piercing as she spoke. Richard finally nodded.

"I know. And I'm willing to stay with you as long as you'll let me. It's… a different feeling for me, though," he shrugged. Kori nodded.

"You know the dark side of my past and you're still staying despite what threat it may be. I trust whatever it is that is keeping you with me… speaking of which, the police still haven't tracked down Carmen or Terra. They said even with the letters and the autop-autopsy…" she swallowed at the thought of Roy. "And even with the finger-printing they did around the crime-site, it's somewhat inconclusive. They did a really good job at laying conflicting clues," Kori shook her head.

"Now… with the tabloids… with you and me on the cover… If Carmen sees you, there's no way she won't go after you. Whether to steal your heart or your life… I'm not sure. She may just try to, well, seduce you. I mean, considering you do have a considerable fortune behind your name," Kori said petulantly. Richard smiled softly and stroked some hair out of her face.

"I'm with you to the end," he replied. He was attracted to Kori in a way he could not deny nor ignore nor be rid of. It would stay with him. Forever. And he knew it too. Kori loved him, despite himself, and she was honest with him too. She told him what she didn't trust and he couldn't help but agree she had her points. But still, through all of the indications that he would do nothing but throw her away in the end, she loved him. Richard had determined a while ago he wasn't going to let the indications be correct. He was keeping Kori, because he lover her too.

"I'll hope so," she whispered, kissing him tenderly.

"Bruce wants me to break things off with you, though. He wants us to be professionals and no more. He says he'll tolerate friendship, but that anything more between us will take away from my career," Richard growled unhappily.

"And what do _you_ say?" she asked.

"To hell with him," Richard retorted stoutly. She grinned and fussed with his unruly hair.

"Be nice," she scolded, amusement lacing her voice. "You're so stubborn. About everything." She tilted her head to the side as if trying to understand him. Richard smirked.

"I suppose," he agreed. Kori seemed to remember something and pushed herself off of him so she was simply sitting beside him. She tugged at a loose thread in her jeans.

"You never told me about your mom. We left the club last night and you sort of disappeared when we got back here…" she gave him an inquiring look. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I hope…" she trailed off. Richard reached up from where he was sprawled on the massive leather couch to cup her cheek in his hand. He drew her to him for a quick kiss and a brief hug as well.

"I guess you'll get it out of me eventually, won't you? You're pretty stubborn yourself," he laughed quietly. Kori nodded, her eyes sparkling with the same eternal laughter that had first captivated him. He remembered now, how he had first seen her, rain-soaked and absolutely thrilled by it and bold enough to dash up and hug two of Gotham's biggest celebrities and business-world tycoons. Well, Bruce was more the business tycoon. As successful as he was, Richard had never really let go of his more… rebellious side, so to speak. None the less, that girl that had come prancing into the manor weeks ago was now lying in his arms and it felt perfect.

"So, does that mean you're going to tell me?" she asked, lying back down and snuggling against him. Richard rolled his eyes.

"You're persistent too. But, yeah, that means I'm going to tell you. You have to promise me something, though," he said carefully.

"What?" she asked.

"Promise me you won't feel sorry for me or anything. You wouldn't let me feel sorry for you so you gotta do the same for me. Remember? You said you were 'fine for the moment' when you told me not to feel sorry for you. And you told me that we both had hard pasts to deal with. Same applies. You're with me, and I'm in love like I haven't been since… well, ever, and right now I'm fine and you had a hard past too, so swear you won't feel sorry for me," he said with gritted teeth, and Kori felt a very small twinge of fear come to her. What ever he was going to say…

"I can't promise I won't feel sorry for you, Richard. I love you. When you hurt, I hurt. But I promise not feel pity for you. Because, I believe you felt _sorry_ for me, but you did as I asked and you didn't feel pity," she decided. Richard was quiet a moment.

"Alright. I guess you're right there, but just-just remember you promised not to pity me. Pity kind of makes it worse in actuality…" he mumbled. Kori nodded, her cheek pressed to his chest so he probably felt the movement more than he saw it.

"So now tell me. Tell me what's hurt you so bad,"

* * *

Author's Note: Ok, here's your next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Pesche, that's a good point. I do have a deffinate plot, but I think I might have too many side plots in there too... ya knkow? Like I'm not being clear enough about what the story is REALLY about. But it's a fic centered on Rich and Kori coming to understand eachother and just getting through the trials of life as who they are together. There's also Carmen and that whole thing... but, yeah. Darkest Midnight, I didn't make up that fun fact. Seriously, I read it on a review for the "New Teen Titans" comics... Tim Drake really did that. I'd also like to let you all know that we have about three chappies to go and then this fic is FINISHED. I've got Richard's past to deal withand the party and Carmen before it's totally done. Hehe, promise I'llfinish soon. I've also got like two or three one shots I'll be typing up and posting soon, possibly instead of another chapter tonight so you'll have to wait till tomorrow...

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

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_**Titan's News**: Ok... news for today is just answering some questions. A few of the questions were adressed in the A/N, so lok there too. From what the producer and others on the Titans crew are sayin, it's highly unlikly for Terra to come back, but because there was so much response to her and people liked her so much I guess there's always an outside chance. I can't tell you for sure if there will be BB/Rae fluff next season but I'm still counting on all the little subtle moments they've had throughout the show to continue. Unfortunatly I have no further info on "The Wedding" other than it's possible episode title in season 5 or something. Sorry. Again, those of you who want screen has awesome screen shots for almost all of the episodes out right now. I've been told there's aDEFINITE kiss is the titan's movie? MyGod now I'm excited... jeez... andthey won't tell who it's between but they said Raven won't be doing any kissing so that means...! OMG, spaz time y'all. Thanks for that review... you knowwho you are. For that long list of questions I got: one, Rose Wilson is Slade's daughter by a woman named LillianWorth, a far away princess he was "rescuing" of sorts... two, my fave episode as of now is betrothed, but I haven't seenStranded yet, so, ya know...there's likely to be a change. three, look above for screen shots webbie... number four, Wonder Woman's name is Diana. I don't know her last name to be quite honest... there was another question but I missed it, I think. Sorry... can't remember what it was._

Chapter 17's Teen Titans "Fun" fanct:

Umm... not very interesting, but Raven went under the alias Rachel for a while... so, yeah...


	19. Pain All the Same

Life's Canvas

Chapter 18: Pain All the Same

Richard shifted his position on the couch, tugging Kori up closer to him. He sighed wearily. This was not a tale he enjoyed recounting. Kori touched his arm gently, letting her hand linger a moment as to tell him she was there. "Well… I was born into a family of acrobats. I know, kind of weird that I used to live at the circus, but it's true. There was me, my mom and dad, and my brother. Our little family was called the flying Graysons, and we were famous for our closing act. That act was probably one of the most dangerous, because it was done without a safety net… but we were good, so it didn't much matter.

"When I was about seven or eight, maybe nine, we came to do a show here in Gotham. As you can see, I never left. There was a gang lord that the owner of our circus owed some money to. I remember hiding behind one of the tent flaps, watching the two of them bickering back and forth. The circus owner refused to pay any money. The gang lord left, but not without some violent threats. I guess I was scared, because I never talked to my mom and dad about it. I just went and got ready for our performance.

"Kori, you should've seen it. It was completely full in the big tent, and there were lights flashing and it was just the most exciting moment of my nine-year-old life. To say the least, I was too drunk with adrenaline to be thinking about the gang lord's threats. In fact, I was much more consumed by the rumors that the almighty Bruce Wayne had come to see our show. When it was our time to go up… everything went perfectly. I was a star, the youngest trapeze-artist out there.

"So I finished my part of the show and I was just standing up there on the platform when my parents went out to do the final act, with no safety net and all. It went smoothly at first, and then I heard the most sickening sound in the world," Richard paused, a slight shudder running through his body. Kori squeezed him tightly. "I heard it; there was someone cutting the ropes. I tried to find out where it was coming from, I swear, but I couldn't see anything with all those lights. And then I looked up to yell a warning to my parents but all I got out was this worthless little scream… 'cause they were already falling.

"I watched them die, Kori… both of them. And I heard them hit the ground… I-I saw their bodies _break_." Richard shook his head, eyes closed. "I guess one of the goons set the circus on fire, but I don't remember much other than getting down the ladder and running over to my mom and dad and looking into their eyes. That was the worst part, because you can't even pretend their alive when you see their eyes. It got really, really hot and I realized the tent was on fire and there were people screaming and crying, but I was just… lost. Everything seemed to be dim and unreal. That's when Bruce grabbed me. He literally grabbed me around the waist, hoisted me over one shoulder and left the circus without a word.

"It's hard to imagine Bruce having done that, but I guess fifteen years ago had him a little more daring and whatever… I remember screaming for my parents, and crying, and wanting to kill myself for being too late and too stupid to warn them. But that was that, and they were gone. Bruce made me his ward and I left what was left of the circus to move into Wayne Manor. About a week later they told me my brother had died in the fire," Richard fell silent. "The rest… well, I was kind of a crazy kid and being the heir to the Wayne fortune… you could pretty much look up the rest of my life in the Gotham Daily tabloids," Richard muttered bitterly.

"I never asked to be rich and famous, either. I don't give a damn about it, honestly. I'd rather have just had my parents live. It seems almost criminal that my life is in the lap of luxury now that their gone," he sighed and sucked in a deep breath. So now it was out, and the wounds felt raw again. Hell, it felt like someone had just poured a bottle of alcohol and shaken salt onto them. Richard heard Kori sniffle. "Kori?" he asked quietly. Kori looked up, trying to wipe away her tears.

"That's absolutely awful. How c-can you bear having seen them die?" she whispered. Richard's blue eyes became dark.

"I can't… couldn't. I can now. Because… because I think you actually understand," he propped himself up on his elbows so he could gently kiss her cheek, his lips taking the tears from her face. She hiccupped and clung to him.

"You're so amazing, Richard," she murmured, her head buried in his chest. Richard frowned. What? "You're such a great person, even though you went through all that… most people would become so cold and bitter to the world," she blubbered. Richard looked up towards the sky. He _was_ cold and bitter towards the world… sort of… not anymore…

"Stop crying, Kori, you promised you wouldn't pity me," he said quietly.

"I don't pity you… I just… it must hurt so bad. I couldn't have even imagined…" she shook her head. They sat there, cradling one another and silently pouring out their understanding to one another, healing each other in the embrace. It would've continued for quite some time, but a raucous and disturbing pounding sounded at the door. Kori jumped in surprise and Richard quickly slid off the couch. The two quickly journeyed to the front door.

As Richard swung it open, Kori screamed. A thin, lanky young woman toppled through the door and collapsed on the foyer floor. Richard slammed the door shut behind her and knelt down beside her where Kori was already franticly brushing dirty hair from the girl's face. She was pale, almost ghostly looking. "Terra!" Kori gasped. Terra coughed and sputtered, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Kori looked up at Richard wide-eyed. Terra shuddered, her eyes wild.

"K-Kori… I'm s-so sorry for what-what I've done," Terra rasped. Kori stroked the matted blonde hair back from her friend's face, a forgiving light in her eyes.

"Truly, it's fine Terra, but please… you're hurt, let's get you some help," Kori looked to Richard, asking him wordlessly to fetch help. Richard darted up and went to call 911.

"Kori, I d-don't have much time… it's pointless. I just… had to get to you and t-tell you. Carmen… she's going a-after you. Y-you and Grayson… she's going to strike at-at…" Terra took in a few rattling breaths and more blood slipped from her mouth. "The party…" she groaned and her eye glazed over. The girl let out a dying his of breath and went rigid. Kori dropped Terra's body and scrambled back in horror, stumbling back into Richard's arms. She twisted to face him, and his expression was grim.

"The police are coming. You can't go to that party now…" he said darkly. The hate in his eyes frightened Kori.

"Richard…"

"Damn your sister, Kori. Damn her!" he hissed, gripping her arm tightly. Kori flinched.

"Richard… no," she whispered back. Richard's eyes widened momentarily, and he let go of her arm. His gaze drifted to the dead body on the foyer floor.

Within a few minutes, wailing sirens announced the police had come. The barged through the door and the head officer let out a string of curses. Terra's hand had slid off of her chest, revealing a deep wound. Carmen had been vicious…

The officers were quick to remove the body and take pictures of the scene, collecting what meager data they could off of the body before hustling it off to the autopsy labs. From the look of Terra's blood-shot and crazed eyes, they thought she might have been drugged too. A policewoman approached Richard carefully. He reflexively held Kori closer to him.

"Mr. Grayson? Miss Anders? A word please…" she said. Her tone implied this was to be a private conversation. Richard led her warily into Bruce's office just off the foyer. He still refused to let Kori go. "Miss Anders, did this 'Terra' say anything to you before she passed on?" the officer asked, her tone cold and down to business.

"Yes… she said she was sorry for what she had done and she need to tell me… to tell me that Carmen was going to strike again. At the party tomorrow night," Kori said quietly, her eyes down-cast. Richard uttered a low noise, one which Kori thought suspiciously close to a growl. The officer nodded slowly.

"Miss Anders… if this information is correct, I believe there is a way for us to apprehend your sister. If you are willing," she said. "I'm no going to pressure you. It's admittedly very dangerous for you, considering what capabilities your sister has shown thus far. Mr. Grayson, this could also be a bit risky for you as well," the officer added. Kori locked eyes with the policewoman fearfully.

"Don't you DARE think about doing anything to endanger Kori," Richard snapped. Kori touched his arm gently.

"Tell me what needs to be done. I can't sit and let Carmen hurt more innocent people," she said, her voice wavering slightly. She had an inkling as to what would be asked of her, and off hand, playing bait for her vengeful sister was a rather terrifying notion.

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Author's Note: Hehe, here's the next chappie! Tomorrow's chapter is the last one save the epilogue... wow, it's kind of sad to see this coming to an end, huh? Thank you for all of your support throughout the story, Lil lik Star, linkinparkh2over, pilzberrydoughfeak,xxterraxx, MyMonkeyIsOrange, rock'n'rollbitch, Social Butterfli, thugette,strodgfrgf, XxJeterxX, Freedom Dancer, and all of you others who have been so wonderful, thank you so much you all are great. I'm hoping to have my one-shots up here in a day or two, so please, please keep an eye out for them. And to all of you who have asked me to read their work, it's an honor that you want my opinions on your work and I promis I WILL look at all the pieces you've asked about, but it might take me a little time so please don't get offended if I haven't reviewed yet or something.

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_**Titans News:** Well, this is one of the last editions of titans news for this story... MyMonkeyIsOrange, thank you so much for the info! Everyone, the guy who does the voice of Cyborg has spoken and says their "might" be a r/s kiss but he's not supposed to say anything. I'm gonna take that as a 98 yes. For those of you asking about where I get my info, there are so many sites and sources I couldn't name OR remember them all. I get a lot from various forums and titans web pages and actual titans news websites as well as getting info from all of you. In fact, all of my movie infor has pretty much been given to me souly by reviewers :) I could try to find a couple of the URLs if you're really set on it, Pesche. Just let me know. I can't promise I'll find too many of them, though. (BTW, italian? that's cool. it's a fun word to say, too...lol...pesche, pesche... i like that!) Well, everyone keep your fingers crossed about Prophecy tomorrow. I REALLY don't need the r/r shippers going crazy right beforeStranded... they'll sort of dampen my spirits, you know? Oh, and if it turns out to be too r/r ish,then I will make sure to give you a one-shot that's all r/s goodness to help ease the evilness..._

Chapter 18'sTeen Titans "Fun" Fact:

In the old comic series, Starfire was the first to make a move in her relationship withRobin. And at first, he denied his feelings. But then she was captured and her life was in dangered. Robin saved her and on the return trip home he admitted he did have feelingsfor her and wanted toenter into a more serious relationship butshe might find it hard due to his tendencies to act a little like the Bat... But we all know how that relationship went! Probably the most famous couple of the Teen Titans... and one that eventually resulted in a wedding and baby Nightstar (Mar'i Grayson) according to one of the various plot lines. Unfortunately, Kori died shortly after in that plot line and was unable to raise Mar'i. On top of that, Richard distanced himself from his daughter because she was such a haunting reminder of the woman he'd loved... and lost.


	20. And So It Was To Be

Life's Canvas

Chapter 19: And So It Was To Be

Kori leaned against the wall, her eyes closed. Roy was dead. Terra was dead. Richard was in danger. And it was all her sister's doing. Her thoughts drifted to Raven and Gar. They would be at the party tonight… it wasn't going to be safe for them either. Kori shifted her weight. Raven was pregnant too. This was going to be an absolutely horrid evening. She ran through what the officer had said again.

She was to go and act as if all was normal (the police force had kept Terra's death as quiet as possible so Carmen would not suspect the blonde had made it to Wayne Manor in time to deliver the message) and 'unveil' the gallery. She would go and pretend to have a good time, and at exactly ten o'clock, she would slip off alone. It would appear she just wanted fresh air and a little quiet. Hopefully, this would lure Carmen out after her. If she hadn't come by ten fifteen, Richard was to slip out as well. Hopefully, two of her targets in a secluded area would be enough to draw Carmen out.

Then, if it worked as planed, Kori would call for the police through the tiny microphone clipped to the top of her dress and they would apprehend Carmen. The only problem was there was _way_ too much room for error for her liking. But at least she wasn't walking blindly into this. Terra had betrayed her, yes, but she had come back to help her in the end. A soft knock to her door made the girl flinch.

"Come in," she muttered blankly. Her stomach had successfully twisted itself into a massive knot. Richard walked in, dressed in a handsome black suit. He also had a microphone in his shirt collar. Kori was ready to go too, dressed in the dress she'd gotten with Richard at the mall. The gold-tinted silk draped over her form nicely, and Richard would have commented had the circumstances been different. Her hair was done in long, spiraling coils that flowed down her back in an elegant, scarlet tide.

"Kori, are you sure…"

"Yes," she cut him off. Carmen had gone too far. Much, much too far. She didn't want to turn in her sister, but she knew it was time to do so.

"Then we should get going," he said gruffly. Richard had been far from pleased when he heard exactly what the plan was, and had been even more distressed when Kori had agreed to it without hesitation. Kori nodded and opened her eyes, hoisting herself up from her position against the wall. He took her hand and she offered an empty smile.

They didn't take Richard's bike, opting for one of Richard's various cars instead. The ride to the gallery building was oppressively silent, and neither was very aware of how beautiful the night had turned out to be. When they got to the building, they were greeted with merrily shining lights, and floating laughter trickled from the door. Richard slammed the car-doors shut and locked his vehicle, taking Kori's arm. She glanced at him. "Richard please…" she murmured. Richard sighed, agitated, but she saw him relax his frame just a bit. "Thank you," Kori said. They entered the building both skillfully putting on brilliant false smiles.

"Dick! Kori!" Raven called. They spotted the Logans sitting at one of the few tables that had been set up in the large entrance area. They would enter the actual gallery when Kori was ready to present it. Raven waved them over, her stomach considerably larger than when they'd last seen her.

"Hi Raven, Gar," Richard nodded to each of them and took a seat, pulling out the chair next to him for Kori. Raven smirked.

"Hey, guess what his middle name is going to be. And it's not Garfield," Raven winked and gestured to her stomach. Richard lifted a brow. Raven had a lively sparkle in her eyes and her cheeks were slightly flushed. She seemed really excited about the baby.

"Uh…" Richard shrugged.

"Richard. We wanted him to have your name too," Raven grinned. Richard managed a small, real smile then.

"Thanks, Rae," he said. Gar laughed.

"Oh, and even though you and Kori aren't married or anything, we want you two to be baby Griffin's godparents," he said with a toothy grin. Kori beamed, momentarily forgetting about Carmen.

"It'd be such an honor!" she exclaimed. Raven smiled.

"That's great," she said. Kori looked over at the wall clock across the room. It was nine forty.

"I need to go open the gallery," Kori excused herself and swiftly left the table, Richard's eyes following her uneasily. Moments later, Kori had a microphone in hand and was welcoming everybody to the new gallery. The doors swung open and everybody cheered, a few people toasting Bruce's newest addition to his already sizable line of galleries. The guests started to meander in to look at the paintings and sculptures and Kori quickly found her way back to Richard's side.

They apologized to Gar and Raven, needing to go and 'mingle' a bit for publicity's sake. At a few minutes until ten, Kori locked eyes with Richard. "I should head out," she said softly, her voice low enough that only Richard heard. He frowned, but nodded anyways, kissing her forehead and reluctantly letting her go. He watched as Kori disappeared into the sea of people and watched the top of the back door open and shut across the room.

Kori walked tentatively out onto the back property, the pristine lawn spreading out several yards. It was a little chilly, this late in the evening, and Kori rubbed her arms… half from the cold and half because she was nervous and needed to do _something_. She wandered away from the building, doing her best to make it look like she was just taking an innocent walk around. She heard a couple soft clicks in the little device on her dress and recognized it as the police readying their guns "just in case." Kori's eyes narrowed. She didn't want them to _kill_ her sister. Kori didn't have on a watch, so she wasn't sure when fifteen minutes had gone by. All she knew was that it felt like she'd been wandering in the yard quite some time before she heard the back door bang shut and looked up to see Richard walking silently out to meet her.

He walked up and she gave him a small smile in greeting, which he returned. Neither felt it appropriate to speak. But they needed to. They couldn't just stand there like idiots. Carmen was more than smart enough to figure out it was a trap if they just stood like targets. "Hey," he mumbled.

"Hello, Richard. I thought you'd…um… be staying inside," she coughed. Kori had never been the best at acting… especially under pressure.

"Just came to make sure you were alright," he responded, his voice was flat and Kori glared at him. He narrowed his eyes. "It's kind of cold. You shouldn't have come out here. You'll get sick," he bit off the words and Kori sighed softly.

"I'm fine," she replied. He didn't want her out here, understandably, but he could at least try to make this work. They had made their way to the far side of the property, a little patch of trees to their right. Kori looked over, having heard something, and grabbed his hand as a figure slipped out of the shadow of the trees.

The woman was tall, like Kori, and stately. Her hair flowed in long black waves, styled similarly to how Kori usually wore her hair when it was down. Her eyes were violet, a few shades darker than Raven's eyes, and she had on the most disturbing smile Richard had ever seen. "Hello Sister Dear," she purred, her eyes slim and cat-like. She narrowed her eyes further. "Have you missed me?" she asked with a low chuckle. Richard decided right then that the woman was insane. Kori's nails dug into Richard's palm, and he moved a little closer to her.

"Carmen… you're here…?" Kori said, her voice high and nervous. She said it loud enough that her microphone should have picked it up. Carmen laughed.

"You think that'll work?" she asked, sneering. Kori looked at her sister, bewildered. Carmen reached forward and ripped off the microphone. "They'll never get here in time. They're all the way around the other side of the building!" she hissed. Kori squeaked and took a few steps back. Like she had thought, there was WAY too much room for error in this plan… That's when Carmen pulled out the gun. Richard saw it first, going rigid. Kori's eyes widened when she saw the weapon, and then she screamed as she saw Carmen aim the gun at Richard. Richard reacted fast, diving to wards the ground as the gun fired. He felt the bullet graze his left shoulder as he hit the lawn. Kori saw it, and her eyes flashed. The sweet little artist felt a flaming anger burn up in her. By the time Richard had hit the ground, Kori had lurched forward and tackled her sister. The gun flew from Carmen's hand as Kori pinned her to the grass. Carmen struggled, and almost pulled out from under her little sister but Kori whipped her hand back and when she brought it back forward she was clutching a blade in her fist. Kori jerked the knife to Carmen's throat and the black-haired girl immediately stopped her movement. Carmen's eyes became wide with the sudden shock of it.

Kori pushed herself slowly back up to her feet, bent over enough that the dagger still stayed at her sister's throat. Carmen swallowed, the yells of policemen reaching her ears. From the corner of her eye, she saw Richard pick himself up off the ground, clutching his shoulder and staring at Kori with as much surprise as she was. "Kori, d-dear, aren't you going to let y-your big sister up now?" Carmen whimpered. She had underestimated her sister… far, far too much. Carmen had planned it all, and up to this point she'd picked off all that was close to Kori one life at a time and kept her in almost constant fear. But now, with just this mistake of a few seconds, Kori held Carmen's life at blade-tip.

"No. You're going to jail, _sister_, and you will _never_ get near Richard again," Kori glowered, her eyes flashing with anger. "This was a very bad move, Carmen. Very bad indeed," she whispered as the police surrounded them on either side. With all of the guns pointed on her, Carmen was smart enough to calmly be taken away by the officials, but not with one more threat yelped over her shoulder.

"This isn't the end, Kori! I WILL have my revenge! I swear it!" Carmen screeched. Kori cringed, watching them haul her sister away. One of the officers looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"Good call, Anders! You're pretty much a hero now, hon," he called. Kori nodded absently, turning to look at Richard worriedly.

"Oh, Richard, are you ok!" she asked placing her hand on his shoulder lightly, eyes studying the wound critically. Quick footfalls alerted them of Raven and Gar hustling over, Gar laboring to help the slightly awkward Raven who was finding her maneuverability a bit harder with her swollen middle.

"Kori! Richard! What happened?" Raven hollered as she rushed up. Richard ignored the pain in his shoulder and grabber Kori around the waist, pulling her roughly to him. He had it in mind to keep her in his arms forever and never, ever, ever letting go… perhaps a bit possessive, but he didn't really care.

"Nothing, Carmen's been caught. That's all… but Richard's hurt!" Kori pointed to his shoulder fanatically. Raven and Gar looked at each other and then over at Richard and Kori and back at each other before they burst into a hysteric fit of laughter. Kori and Richard stared at them, baffled. "What's so funny about Richard being hurt?" Kori demanded. Gar stopped and took a deep breath.

"No. It's not that, it's just… here's Richard, holding onto you like you're going to disappear if he let's go and there you are, getting all upset about a little nick on the shoulder when you sister, who's a MASS MURDERER, just got caught!" he snickered. Kori blushed and Richard glared. "W-well, yes… but Richard's been grazed by a bullet, see?" she again pointed to Richard's shoulder where a little blood was now seeping from the tattered spot of cloth.

"He'll be fine, Kori," Raven said, amused. "But you said Carmen was caught?" ((A/N: I was just now thinking "Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?)) the violet haired woman asked on a more serious note. Kori nodded, her eyes becoming sad.

"Yes. My sister has been apprehended…" she murmured, slumping slightly in Richard's arms. "It is good… but I hate to think of her being in prison, the poor thing…" Richard snorted ruefully.

"She tried to kill us, Kori," he muttered crossly. Kori sighed and shook her head.

"I know… but she's still my sister," she said. Richard grimaced. Still… either way, he decided not to say anything more about it. "None the less, we must attend to your shoulder!" she declared strongly. Richard waved the idea off.

"It's just a little nick, like Gar says. Alfred can get me some bandages at home. Speaking of which, we may as well go… the party's probably over anyhow," he said, looking at Raven for confirmation. She nodded.

"Yeah, everyone left when they heard the gun shot. Lot's of people freaked out," Raven had managed to fall back into her basic monotone, overcoming her "baby high" (Or, that's what Gar called it…) and her anxiousness about her friend's safety.

Kori bit her lip. "Alright then…" she trailed off. It seemed kind of abrupt to just… go back to the Manor, but… ok. The friends parted ways and Richard lead Kori back out towards the car, still sheltering her close to him. "I have a question, though. Why did you have a knife with you?" he asked curiously, as they walked. Kori flushed.

"I thought she might attack us and the police wouldn't come or something… so I brought it. I bought it last night while you were asleep," she admitted. Richard grinned.

"I'm glad you brought it. Although you could've just gotten a dagger from Bruce's weapons collection. He keeps in this stupid cave thing he built under the manor. Calls it the 'bat cave' cause it looks like an old cavern with guns and swords and knives all along the walls. He also has a few weird gadgets…" he rolled his eyes. Kori giggled, glad to have Richard lightening her mood.

"But none of them would have had one of these," she said, pulling away from him just enough that she could hitch up the bottom of her dress and reveal a band fastened around her leg with the sheath for the blade. Richard couldn't help himself and gave a bark of laughter. Kori pouted. "Hey, it could have very well been this knife that saved us," she scowled. He nodded.

"Yeah, I know… it's just…" he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What?" she asked.

"You looked cute doing that," he said, motioning to where Kori was still holding up the hem of her dress. Kori narrowed her eyes.

"Dick," she muttered. Richard quieted at the name, sulking. She rolled her jade eyes and wrapped her arms around him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," she apologized, a falsely innocent smile on her face. Richard grinned and seemed to accept the apology, capturing her lips soundly in his own. Everything had happened so fast… and it felt good to just hold her.

Raven and Gar watched as all of that took place, knowing smiles on their faces. "They're cute, aren't they, Rae?" Gar said with a soft chuckle and kiss to her temple. Raven nodded.

"Very. It was always to be. I knew it the day Richard first called me. Right after Kori had arrived. They're perfect together… and hopefully they'll stay true to one another and keep on painting life's canvas with their love," Raven murmured. Gar glanced at his wife.

"Why do you have to be so philosophical about everything?"

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Author's Note: Well... here's the last chapter. The epilogue will be up sometime tomorrow, I think. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I feel like this chapter came out a bit awkward, but I hope it's ok. I have this severe impediment when it comes to writting endings... so, I don't know. Whatever. I hope to recieve your comments and such. I wonder if the story will hit 300 by the time the epilogue is done... I mean, we're really close. Wow... that'll be a record for me Oh, and I just want to tell everyone now that I'm going to probably stick with one-shots until camp has come and gone so I don't leave you haning in the middle ofa fic when I have to go or something...lol. This is kind of sad... to see Life's Canvas end and all. Well, at least we've still got an epilogue to come, right? Right? Gosh, now I'm gonna go cry... lol.

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran

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_**Titans News:** No Titans News for the moment... will answer questions and the likes in the epilogue addition of Titans News instead. All I know is I'm going into major spaz mode waiting for Stranded and the titans movie and the KISS! _

Chapter 19's Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:

I went toWalmart and was startled as I entered the towel section when I was greeted by Beast Boy's toothy grin on a big beach towel. I investigated further to find the towel depicted all of the titans and Raven was actually smiling quite giddily. It was a raher profound moment for me... Not much of a fact, per say, but I guess you might find it of some entertainment or intrest, and if you are in such dire need of a fact then your fact is this. The Teen Titans have an official towel.


	21. Epilogue

Life's Canvas

Chapter 20: Epilogue

Several Months Later…

"RICHARD GRAYSON! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Kori yelled from her seat on the foyer floor. She smiled brightly as Richard came stumbling out, blundering down the stairs.

"What's wrong, baby?" he mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Kori tilted her head to the side.

"Nothing. I just want to finish up this painting before I go in to work. It's for Griffin's room… he's such a sweet little boy," Kori sighed happily. Richard grimaced.

"Should I be jealous?" he asked playfully. Kori had fairly adopted Raven's baby, always eager to see him when Raven brought him to work with her. Kori giggled.

"Perhaps, but now, get over here," she said, motioning for him to come sit beside her. Richard scowled, rather moody this early in the morning.

"What do ya need _me_ for," he grumbled. Kori rolled her eyes.

"I need your hand print," she said with a mischievous grin. She held up a paintbrush dipped in baby blue paint as if to emphasize. Richard groaned.

"Kori… please…" he sulked. Kori stared at him stubbornly and with a reluctant sigh he flopped down onto the floor next to her. "Fine. But you have to answer something for me first," he said. Kori eyed him carefully.

"And what would that be?" she asked warily. He rummaged in the pocket of his sweat pants for a moment and then smiled, triumphantly produced the desired object. A little black velvet box was offered to her hopefully. Kori's breath caught and her gaze flittered between the box and Richard several times. Richard gave her a sheepish smile and opened the box to reveal a beautiful white gold ring with a single diamond displayed elegantly on it.

"Off hand, I was… kind of hoping you'd marry me," he coughed, a nervous shade of red rising to his cheeks. Kori watched as he averted his gaze, finding the marble floor of sudden interest. She bit her lip and grinned. He was so cute like that…

"If I say yes… will you give me your hand print?" she asked, giving him a little wink. Richard nodded furiously.

"Of course!" he blurted. Richard seemed to realize how pitifully hopeful he must have looked about then and he flushed an even deeper shade of red. Kori leaned over and kissed him lightly.

"Then my answer is yes, Mr. Grayson," she chuckled. A grin spread across Richard's face. "Now gimme your hand, Richard," she instructed. Richard laughed and did what he was told, but not before slipping the ring onto her finger.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Richard and Kori were married soon after, Raven as Kori's maid of honor and Victor as Richard's best man. Baby Griffin was the ring bearer… with a little help from Karen Stone, of course. The couple was happily wed and Kori's move into Wayne Manor became official. Even a slightly disgruntled Bruce Wayne wished them the best before catching a flight to yet another business meeting.

Kori Grayson soon gained quite a reputation from the artwork she'd done in the gallery. She ended her internship and became a renowned art teacher of Azerath School of Fine Arts (She also taught a few music classes, because as Raven had said: she was the best soprano Raven had seen). Richard actually took over the full management of several Wayne Co buildings, but refused to take over any outside of Gotham or Jump City. This was mainly due to the fact that Kori would worry incessantly until he returned from a business trip, images of Terra and Roy's bodies never fully making their way from her mind.

Shortly after Griffin's third birthday (and his baby sister Jade's first birthday a week later) Kori announced she was pregnant and nine months later had a beautiful baby girl whom the proud parents named Mari. And so it was that Richard had finally found his match in the most unlikely of places; a little spitfire artist named Kori.

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Author's Note: A very short and sweet little epilogue for all of you. Thugette, I thought it quite funny to get your review just after I'd finished writting the epilogue... I guess you got what you asked for, right? Although I didn't name their daughter after you. Mari was actually Richard and Koriand'r's child's name. Only, they spelled it Mar'i. MyMonkeyIsOrange: I'm going to a summer camp for Duke University... some TIP program thingy. Thanks for asking and good luck with finding the towel. It shouldn't be too hard to find it... I mean, bright blue with BB grinning at you... it's quite noticable. FreedomDreamer: An official washcloth... hmm... Somehow I find that entertaining and little disturbing as well. I mean, I love the titans but I'm not sure I'd wanna use a washcloth with their faces on it... hence why I didn't get the towel. Just... I don't know, it was an odd idea to have a _towel_ of all things with their heads on it... Oh, moving on... I'm considering my next chapter story to be released here in a few weeks (you'll have to put up with one-shots until then) and I was wondering if you could give me some input.Like, would you like to see more of a romance/humor or romance/drama or romance/suspence or whatever. It'll be the same pairings as this fic, obviously. So just let me know. SocialButterfli: Yes, the fic has come to theendand I'm probably even more depressed than you are. But I'll occupy my time with hounding you for updates!

So here it is. The end. I bid you farewell for the moment, but I'll have something new for you soon. I promise. Life's Canvas: COMPLETE

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_**Titans News:** The story ended and so has Titans News. If you liked having this in each chapter, tell me in a review and perhaps I'll have it in my next chapter story as well._

Epilogue Teen Titans "Fun" Fact:

You've probably seen the teen titans action figures, and if you're like me you even have a few because you're obsessivly possesive of all things titans. But, you might not have noticed that if you look through the sets of two they have out you will find at least four sets. There's Robin & BB, Cy&Rae, BB&Rae, and Star&Robin as well as some titan/villan combinations. Now, it could be totaly superfluous, but if you disregard the BB&Robin set you have a rob/star set, a bb/rae set, and a cy/rae set. All of which are possible romantic pairings on the show. You'll also find there are nor rob/rae sets (grins devilishly). If you're like me at all, you'll see what I'm getting at here. Subliminal messages from DC comics, my friends... subliminal messages.


End file.
